Time Management Tips for Inbound Phone Calls

Part 1: Time Management Telephone Tips

By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

Inbound phone calls can eat up a lot of time and seriously decrease your productivity by pulling you away from other tasks. But just as there are ways of handling outgoing phone calls that will improve your time management, there are ways of handling inbound phone calls to cut down on the amount of time you burn up speaking on the phone. These phone answering tips will help.

Time Management Telephone Tips For Inbound Phone Calls

1)      Answer your telephone with a proper business phone greeting.

For instance, when answering the phone say something such as, "Cypress Technologies. Susan speaking. How may I help you?" This not only lets the caller know that they've reached a business, but puts the onus on him to answer the question, saving time on exploratory questions such as, "Is this Cypress Technologies?", and idle chit chat.

2)      Think and prioritize as you speak.

Is the call best handled right now or later? Many of the telephone calls businesses receive are quick inquiries that are easily answered, such as, "How late are you open?" But others involve more complex and time-consuming answers. If that's the case, tell the caller so, and ask when it would be convenient to call her back to discuss it.

3)      Use techniques such as paraphrasing and summarizing to keep phone calls on track.

If you're speaking to someone on the phone who seems to want to chat or stray from the point, say something such as, "So what I hear you saying is..." or "So the key points are..." or "Is (insert summary) a fair summary of what you were saying?" It's hard to be chatty with someone who refuses to chat.

4)      Get in the habit of closing each inbound phone call with a summary of whatever action you and the caller have agreed to take.

While this will only take seconds in most cases, it can save you a lot of time by avoiding errors and the need to double-check. For instance, after a conversation during which you arranged a meeting with a client, you might say, "Good. I'll meet with you at your office at (insert location) at 10 a.m. tomorrow and we'll go over the samples together."

There are another six time management tips for handling inbound phone calls on the following page; click "next" to continue on to page two.

More Telephone Tips

Here are more time management tips to handle inbound phone calls efficiently. (See Time Management Tips for Outgoing Phone Calls for more time-saving ways to handle calls.)

5)      Keep a message pad and writing implements by all your phones, so you can jot down details during the inbound phone call.

This is not only good time management at the time, helping to keep you focused on the call, but a help to time management later if you need to find and/or review the details of a particular conversation.

6) Give your clients and customers the email option.

Many of them will use email to contact you rather than phoning if they know what your email address is. Ensure that your company's email address is prominent on your business cards and on your website, if you have one. If you have their email addresses, send email to your current clients and customers, mentioning the email option and presenting it as a way to improve communications.

7) Use technology to manage the time you're spending answering the phone.

As a minimum, your business should have an answering machine and voice mail. Set these up with appropriate business scripts, and use them to answer the telephone for you when you're out of the office or need to work on something uninterrupted. Then schedule time to answer these telephone messages each day. In terms of time management, you'll gain valuable time by grouping telephone calls together.

8) If you're running a home-based business, get a separate business phone or line.

You need to have a second "business-only" telephone with its own "business-only" answering machine and/or voice mail. Not only is this more professional, but it will save you the time it takes to wade through messages and determining which ones are business-related.

9) It's always best to have a person answer the phone.

Having a machine pick up or worse, an automated "choose one of these numbers" system is a real turn off that will cost you business when people don't bother to leave messages or call back. If answering inbound phone calls is taking up too much time during your day, consider hiring a receptionist or a professional answering service to answer the phone for you. The cost of having someone else do it may be more than offset by the increase in your productivity and better sales.

10) Keep a written script of frequently asked questions (and answers) posted by your phone.

It saves you and your employees time t have to search for answers or think about how to answer a particular request when answering the phone.

Telephone Tips Summary

Remember, the telephone is supposed to be a business tool, not an intrusive timewaster that rules your working day. Handling your inbound phone calls according to these time management tips will help you better manage your time, improve your productivity, and put your telephone back in its proper place - helping you run your business rather than

Prepared by SANN RAKSMEY.

Home Pregnancy Tests

Compiled by Terri Isidro-Cloudas

Eight Signs of Pregnancy

* Urine Pregnancy Test

* What to Expect at Your First Prenatal Visit

If you suspect you're pregnant, chances are you're considering taking a home pregnancy test. And why not? They're readily available, easy to use, and can buy you peace of mind — not to mention quick results!

But before you head to the pharmacy to buy a home testing kit, learn the answers to some basic home pregnancy test questions from the National Women's Health Information Center.

How soon after conception is a pregnancy test effective?

Pregnancy tests, which are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, have come a long way since the early to mid 1900s when toads, rats, and rabbits were actually used in testing. Today, over-the-counter home pregnancy kits provide privacy and fast results. They can detect pregnancy as soon as six days after conception or one day after a missed menstrual period. This is a major advantage in allowing women to seek the earliest prenatal care possible.

How do pregnancy tests work?

Pregnancy tests detect the presence of a hormone produced by pregnant women after conception, called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In the 1970s, a method called ring or tube agglutination testing used a test tube containing prepackaged red blood cells to detect hCG in urine. If a ring showed at the bottom of the tube after addition of a urine sample, the test was positive. These tests are very sensitive to movement and human error so they're rarely used today.

The test kits you find in your drugstore today are much more sophisticated. Brands such as e.p.t. and First Response contain special antibodies that detect minute traces of hCG in urine. The antibodies are molecules coated with a substance that bonds to the pregnancy hormone if it's present. The tests are easy to use: A urine sample is combined with the antibodies in a special container and the test is timed. A color change indicates a positive or negative result.

Products such as Clearblue Easy use a testing method called "rapid assay delivery," which can give results in only three minutes and even inform the user if the test hasn't been done properly. This method combines a biochemical process with antibodies that detect hCG in a pen-shaped instrument.

How accurate are home pregnancy tests?

Although most manufacturers claim that home pregnancy tests are 99 percent accurate, inaccurate results may be more frequent due to improper usage, use of a product past its expiration date, exposure of the test to sunlight, and the presence of cancer in the user. It's very important to follow the package instructions exactly for results to be accurate. Regardless of the brand used or result obtained, most manufacturers recommend repeating the process a few days later to confirm results, because levels of hCG following conception are so low. The strength of each test varies, and the test may not pick up the amount of hCG hormone present the first time you test. You should definitely make an appointment to see your doctor as soon as you think you're pregnant. It's important to get prenatal care as early as possible, for your sake and for your baby's.

Prepared by SANN RAKSMEY,,,

The Truth About Babymaking Sex

By Deborah Gaines

* Ten Tips for Optimal Conception

* Eight Surprising Fertility Facts

* Pros and Cons of Ovulation Predictor Kits

Basal thermometers. Ovulation predictor kits. Cervical mucus. Are you hot yet? If not, you're not alone. While babymaking sex sounds great in theory (no worrying about birth control!), couples who've been there are more likely to describe it as "mechanical," "unromantic," and "a big turnoff."

What's the problem? One husband explains, "When we threw away the condoms, I thought that meant we'd get to have spontaneous, uninhibited sex. Instead it was just the opposite. We had to schedule intercourse to correspond with my wife's ovulation, and limit ourselves to a couple of positions because they offered maximum penetration."

The experience can be equally frustrating for women. "I wanted it to be a beautiful thing — that we loved each other enough to create a baby together," says one mom-to-be. "But the reality was more like some weird science experiment."

Expert Advice

              According to psychotherapist Lenore Pomerance, the key to a better sex life is learning to separate fertility from sexuality. "There's a vast difference between sex for pleasure and sex for conception, and couples who recognize this can avoid blaming, feeling guilty, or getting turned off by sex for conception," she says.

Pomerance points out that this separation is most essential when your efforts aren't immediately successful. "I've had couples express fears that they couldn't get pregnant because the sex wasn't good enough, or the love failed — which, of course, has nothing to do with fertility. When partners start feeling flawed or inadequate because they haven't conceived right away, they grow depressed and their sexual feelings are affected."

Three Tips for Better Babymaking Sex

1. Start learning about "reality sex."

 Pomerance says, "Couples who are disappointed by babymaking sex are often hanging on to a fantasy about what lovemaking is 'supposed' to be — romantic, spontaneous, always satisfying, and not requiring communication or effort to get or stay that way. The reality is that sex can be many, many things. If a couple is connected enough emotionally and physically, they can let go of the fantasy and learn how to make the reality feel good."

2. Keep your sense of humor.

Viewed objectively, sex, conception, and becoming a parent are three of the funniest conditions in the human experience. Couples who can laugh at themselves often end up closer, sexually and otherwise, than they were before trying to conceive. One new mom who had to undergo two years of fertility treatments says that laughter is what got her through. "In spite of all our best efforts, we ended up having to conceive by intrauterine insemination. If we hadn't been able to joke about the 'turkey baster,' we'd probably be divorced now instead of expecting our second child."

3. Have hot, spontaneous sex the rest of the month.

By definition, you can only have babymaking sex during the three- to five-day window when you're fertile each month. That leaves nearly four weeks for recreational fun! Try to get in some tender lovemaking as well as swinging from the chandelier. And take time to share your feelings about your sexual connection. Couples who start working to keep it healthy now reap big benefits when they become parents.

Prepared by SRS...

Eight Conception Myths

By Deborah Gaines

   If you're trying to get pregnant, chances are you've been overwhelmed with tips and advice. Books, magazines, Web sites, and well-meaning friends and relatives are full of suggestions. But how do you separate the myths from the facts? Here are some common misconceptions about conception.

1. You'll have a better chance of conceiving if you relax and stop worrying about it.

   Even assuming this were possible, there's no clinical evidence that it makes a difference. While extreme stress can affect your ability to ovulate in very rare cases, "worrying about it" — especially if that worry takes the form of monitoring ovulation and timing intercourse to coincide with your most fertile time — can only help.

2. Drinking Robitussin before you ovulate will make you more fertile.

   The theory is that guaifenesin, the expectorant ingredient in Robitussin, will help thin your cervical mucus in the same way it thins the mucus in your lungs, making it easier for the sperm to swim through your cervix and reach the egg. While guaifenesin may, indeed, result in thinner mucus, it's not clear that thin mucus alone will make you more fertile. The quantity of mucus is as important as its consistency, and Robitussin will not affect this.

3. You'll conceive more quickly if you make love during the day, with the lights on.

   While studies have shown that sperm levels are somewhat higher in the morning, there's no clinical basis for keeping the lights on. (If you enjoy it, of course, that's another matter.)

4. Having sex every day increases your odds of getting pregnant.

   You can have sex 10 times a day and it won't result in pregnancy unless it's timed to coincide with ovulation. And even if you've timed things correctly, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reports that a major study found no difference in pregnancy rates between couples who had sex daily and those who had sex every other day.

5. If you have sex early in your fertile period, the baby will be a boy; later, a girl.

   There's an old wives' tale that "boy sperm" (those with Y-chromosomes) swim faster than their female counterparts, but the NEJM study found no difference.

6. Bike riding will reduce your husband's sperm count.

   If your partner is an Olympic-level, long-distance cyclist, it is theoretically possible (although not clinically proven) that the extra heat, jostling, and grinding on the testicular region will affect sperm count. Recreational cyclists need not worry, however.

7. Eating nonorganic bananas can make men sterile.

   This claim is based on a report that chemicals used in growing bananas had a negative effect on the sperm of farm workers. There is no clinical proof that men who eat the bananas could be similarly affected.

8. Cooling your husband's "jets" with an ice pack can increase his fertility.

   Like many conception myths, this one has a basis in fact: Sperm counts tend to rise in cooler temperatures. For this reason, men who are trying to conceive are advised to wear loose underwear (boxers instead of briefs), and avoid long, hot baths, saunas, and hot tubs. However, since it takes at least two months for a man's sperm count to be positively affected by cooler temperatures, using an ice pack on his genital area is hardly a practical solution.

   Sources: New England Journal of Medicine; American Society of Reproductive Medicine, http://www.asrm.org/

   The information on this Web site is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your pediatrician or family doctor. Please consult a doctor with any questions or concerns you might have regarding your or your child's condition.

Prepared by SANN RAKSMEY.