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Time Management
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call, thereby overcoming its one great drawback: that it com-
municates aurally in what has become a visual world. Visual
telephones will bring whole new dimensions to the conference
call and to computer communications, using the greater speed
and clarity of DSL lines—the high-speed “children” of the tele-
phone line.
But used improperly—which is easy to do—the telephone
can be a black hole of time. Here are six ways in which the tele-
phone can drain valuable and often unanticipated moments
from your life—and what to do about each of them.
Setback 1: Talking too long on each call. Two kinds of people
inhabit this world: those who hate talking on the phone and
those who relish it. In either case—and depending on who is
controlling the conversation, which is often the person who
made the call—more time is often spent on the phone (espe-
cially in work situations) than is necessary. A few tricks can
help trim your calls:

• Minimize the opening chitchat. At least a little social talk
at the onset of a call helps personalize what is to follow.
But it can take time and divert you from your purpose. Be
very aware of that initial socializing and keep it to a mini-
mum.
• Write out, in advance, a list of all the topics you intend to
cover. Such an inventory will help organize your conversa-
tion more efficiently. (This, of course, usually works only
if you make the call.)
• Take control of the conversation when someone else calls.
This is critical if the other person is poorly organized or
gabby. If he or she seems stuck in the social opening, wait
for a pause and say, “So what can I do for you?” If the
business portion of the call moves aimlessly or runs too
long, interject something like “Sorry, but I have to be at a
meeting in five minutes. Let’s try to wrap this up.”
• Keep a three-minute hourglass on your desk and turn it
when you begin speaking. This tactic, recommended by