For those that know me, I am passionate about planning, time management, and continuous improvement. Of late, I have noticed that I haven't been getting through my Perfect Day as crisply as I would like (or normally do).

The root cause is that I haven't been planning in enough CIE time!

Rather than me managing my return calls, interruptions and emails (CIE's), I have been letting them manage me!

Since I haven't been allocating time into my daily schedule to get to them, I'm constantly in reactive, "firefighting" mode returning calls/emails and responding to interruptions "whenever I get time."

Of course the end result is that these CIE's are interrupting the time I have dedicated to getting work done!

If this sounds like you at times, some helpful advice that I have implemented into my daily routine:

• Plan 1/2 hour (morning, lunchtime, late afternoon) 3x's a day to deal with CIE's.
• When you have to get into a "work flow zone" (working on presentation, in an interview, etc.), drive your calls to voice mail and shut down email.
• Publish your schedule with your teammates (post outside your cube/office - with a sign over it - - STOP - READ MY SCHEDULE BEFORE ENTERING) so people know when you are in a "work flow zone".
• Make sure your peers know that just because you're not on the phone and/or in an interview, it doesn't mean you are not working and CAN be interrupted. Posting your schedule + discussing this with your peers can help eliminate 80% of the interruptions that you actually can avoid (versus client calls, etc.).

Of course, all of these tactics take discipline - - the most important attribute to being productive and managing your day/week/year, etc.

I hope you have a Perfect Day and don't let CIE's get in your way!!