December 1 is fast approaching and with it comes the new federal Overtime Rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This new rule reminds us how precious our time is and encourages us to focus on our time management skills. Here’s how a supplier and an event planner are preparing to manage their time and their team’s time better to stay within the boundaries of the Overtime Rule.

Juanita Metzler, Convention Sales Manager for Eugene, Cascades & Coast recommends:

• Record your hours.
  • That way you are more conscious of where your time is going. I lessened my workload by an hour a week for the past six months to prepare. That doesn’t mean slack on your work but maybe you have a half hour slotted to go through new industry publications, try moving that to every other week. You still get the task done but you utilize it more efficiently.
• Intentionally look at emails and social media.
  • Check your email once an hour instead of having it constantly open. This way you’re not distracted and have a more efficient workflow.
• Keep notes on your phone.
  • To avoid forgetting something important when I’m not at the office, I keep notes on my phone that I put all the information in. If I remember something outside of work that I don’t want to forget, I quickly put the thought there and then have it to remind me when I go back to it. 
• Learn that “No” is a complete sentence.

Talking with Becky Radliff, Director of Staff and Client Services at TrackTown USA she said “advance planning, both for our managers and our staff. Since many of our employees are non-exempt status, we must plan ahead to minimize OT hours worked. We do this by providing Mondays off during weeks where we have an event on Saturday, or Fridays off during a week where we have an event on Sundays. We also ask employees to look ahead in terms of anticipated projects and to manage their time with their direct managers. If OT is projected, then we do our best to minimize if possible.”

For more information visit the Department of Labor website.