Cyber Monday: the Monday following Thanksgiving, the biggest online retail shopping day

The term “Cyber Monday” came into being after computers penetrated the workplace. Employees used that first day back after the holiday to order their Christmas presents. While the need for this day is a bit archaic now that computers are also in homes and employees do not have to do all of their shopping during office hours, the phrase still continues to denote this specific Monday.

What strikes me as far as time management principles is that it follows the concept of grouping your activities. You are four times more productive when you focus on one kind of activity at a time rather than switching back and forth. Handling all of your online shopping during just one day allows you to more effectively zero in on other areas the rest of the time instead of picking out one or two gifts per day.

As you proceed through the workweek, think about the things you do that could be grouped rather than being done in a scattered fashion, such as processing email, returning nonurgent phone calls, filing, catching up on reading, or paying bills. Block out periods of time each day when you plan to concentrate on one item at a time instead of the constant multitasking that frequently characterizes a day.