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Thank you in advance for completing this confidential questionnaire for research for new books-in-progress on time management, the office, and business protocol. My book credits include Creative Time Management for the New Millennium, Business Protocol, Who's That Sitting at My Desk?, Effective Business and Nonfiction Writing, Road Signs on Life's Journey, When Friendship Hurts, Friendshifts®, and other titles, translated into more than a dozen foreign languages including Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Korean, Japanese, simple and complex Chinese, and Indonesian.
All responses are confidential and are tabulated anonymously for statistical purposes. Please also note that your e-mail address is never shared with anyone else for any reason.
To e-mail your completed survey, fill in the questions and at the end of the form, click on the "Submit This Survey" button and your survey will be electronically sent.
If you prefer to print out and mail your completed survey, here is the mailing address:
Jan Yager, Ph.D.
Sociologist, seminar leader, consultant, and author
P.O. Box 8038
Stamford, CT 06905-8038
e-mail: jyager@aol.com
www.janyager.com
Work survey copyright © 2005 by Jan Yager, Ph.D. All right reserved. This survey may not be duplicated or reprinted without written permission from its copyright holder, Jan Yager, Ph.D.
Answer as many questions as you wish and, if possible, please add any additional comments, anecdotes, or examples at the end of the survey.
Please note: You should be at least 18 years of age to complete and submit this survey.
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| Sex/gender |
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| Your age |
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| Your occupation |
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| Marital status |
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| If married, what is your spouse's occupation? |
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| Do you have any children? |
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| If yes, what are their ages and gender/sex? |
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| What is the highest educational degree you have obtained? |
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| How many employees in the company where you work? |
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| Do any people report to you? |
Yes
No |
| If yes, how many and what are their job titles/functions? |
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| How many people do you report to? What is his/her job title/function? |
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| Please describe a typical workday, beginning with when you get up, when you arrive at work, what you do at work, and when you leave for home. |
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| What are your greatest time management challenges on your job? |
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| If you could change one thing at work, or in your own behavior, so you could be more productive, what would that be? |
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| Any comments or suggestions about how you could work more effectively with your co-workers, boss, and/or employees? |
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| What technology has helped you become more efficient at work? Please rank your answers, with #1 the most helpful to you up to #5: |
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the fax machine |
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e-mail |
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last number re-dial |
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portable phone |
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cell phone |
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beeper |
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Internet |
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having a web site |
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modem |
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memory dialing |
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microwave |
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electronic rolodex |
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hand-held calculator |
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personal computer |
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scanner |
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CD-ROM |
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telephony (video-phone) |
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video conferencing |
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books on tape |
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answering machine |
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instant messaging |
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instant video messaging |
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other (fill in) |
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electronic organizers (Please list the specific equipment you use) |
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PC (personal computer) (Please list your specific type of computer and any special features that make it especially useful to you) |
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specific software (Please list) |
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| What are the 5 obstacle(s) to your efficient management of time at work (#1,#2, etc.) with #1 the biggest obstacle |
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doing too much at once |
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the inability to say "no" |
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procrastination |
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complaining |
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fear of success |
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fear of failure |
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perfectionism |
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impatience |
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office gossip |
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emotional concerns |
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office romance |
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commuting time |
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paper work |
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telephone |
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television |
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devaluing work activities |
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overvaluing work activities |
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inability to take criticism |
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family responsibilities |
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disorganization |
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too little sleep |
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poor planning |
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volunteer activities |
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failure to prioritize |
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clutter |
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other (fill in) |
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| What are the 5 biggest obstacle(s) to your better leisure time management . Please rank your answers with #1 the biggest obstacle up to #5: |
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doing too much at once |
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the inability to say "no" |
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procrastination |
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complaining |
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fear of success |
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fear of failure |
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perfectionism |
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impatience |
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low frustration tolerance |
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being in love |
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emotional issues |
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commuting time |
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paper work |
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telephone |
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television |
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devaluing leisure activities |
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overvaluing leisure activities |
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inability to take criticism |
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family responsibilities |
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disorganization |
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too little sleep |
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poor planning |
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volunteer activities |
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failure to prioritize |
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clutter |
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other (fill in) |
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| How much time do you spend each day searching for something? |
none
1 minute
1-5 minutes
5-10 minutes
10-20 minutes
20-30 minutes
half an hour
30-45 minutes
45 minutes
1 hour
2 hours
other (fill in)
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| How much time do you spend each week searching for something? |
none
1 minute
1-5 minutes
5-10 minutes
10-20 minutes
20-30 minutes
half an hour
30-45 minutes
45 minutes
1 hour
2 hours
other (fill in)
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| What is the most likely reason(s) for your search? Please rank your answers with #1 the most likely reason. |
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telephone number on piece of paper |
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file folder |
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current work-in-progress |
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information about upcoming meeting |
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car keys |
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book |
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file on computer disk or hard drive |
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someone's address |
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magazine or newspaper clipping |
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other (fill in) |
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| Do you have a systematic filing system? |
Yes
No |
| If yes or sometimes, please describe it: |
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| How often do you sift through and purge or prune your traditional file folders and files? |
daily
weekly
monthly
yearly
never
on "as needed"
someone else does this for me (If this is so, list position of that person)
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| How often do you sift through and purge or prune your computer files (hard drive, floppies, external additional hard drive, back up disks, etc.)? |
daily
weekly
monthly
yearly
never
on "as needed"
someone else does this for me (If this is so, list position of that person)
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| Do you back up your hard drive? |
Yes
No |
| If yes or sometimes, what system do you use? |
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| How much vacation time did you have last year? |
none
1 day
1 week
2 weeks
3 weeks
4 weeks
6 weeks
8 weeks
other (fill in)
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| How much vacation time are you taking (have you taken) during this current year? |
none
1 day
1 week
2 weeks
3 weeks
4 weeks
6 weeks
8 weeks
None yet, but I have a
day vacation planned
other (fill in)
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| How many days of your vacation time did you spend last year on your vacation actually going away? |
none
1 day
1 week
2 weeks
3 weeks
4 weeks
6 weeks
8 weeks
other (fill in)
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| If you could get your work done more efficiently, what would you do with any extra time? (Please rank your answers, with #1 the activity you would most want to do up to #5): |
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go back to school |
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learn a new skill |
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play more with my children |
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play with my pet |
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do housework |
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cook |
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other (fill in) |
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| What ways do you find most effective to communicate at work? Please rank your answers with #1 the most effective to #5 the least: |
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face-to-face interaction |
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on the phone |
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through a memo |
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through video-conferencing |
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through scheduled meetings |
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through faxes |
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non-verbally |
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through greeting cards |
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through letters |
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through e-mail |
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other (please list) |
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| Do you use a daily planner? |
Yes
No |
| If yes or sometimes, what kind? |
paper
electronic |
| Do you use a daily "things to do" list? |
Yes
No |
| If yes or sometimes, explain: |
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| What ways do you find most effective to communicate in your personal relationships? (Please rank your answers with your list in order of effectiveness, with #1 the most effective, to #5 the least effective) |
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face-to-face interaction |
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on the phone |
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e-mail |
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video-conferencing |
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scheduled meetings |
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faxes |
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non-verbally |
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through cards |
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through letters |
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memos |
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family web-site |
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other (please list) |
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| What are you most interested in learning about time management? |
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| What are you most interested in learning about business protocol including international business protocol? |
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| How many phone calls including phone messages do you receive, on average, each work day? |
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| What is your policy about returning phone calls? |
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| voice mail |
It is okay to hang up on someone's voice mail without leaving your name or a message.
You should always leave your name and number when you call someone's voice mail.
Voice mail is impolite; someone should always have a live person answering his/her phone.
You should retrieve messages from your voice mail on a regular basis.
every 2 hours
at least once during the business day
everyday if out of town
no set time frame
other (fill in)
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| Other comments about voice mail, time management, or etiquette: |
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| fax machines |
You should never fax a resume.
Only plain paper fax machines should be used for business.
You should only send a fax during regular business hours.
You should never fax anything confidential.
You should never send a fax that is longer than pages.
There is no page limit for sending a fax.
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| Other comments about the fax, time management, or etiquette: |
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| e-mail |
e-mail is an acceptable way of communicating in business.
You should respond to e-mail immediately.
You should respond to e-mail within 24 hours.
It's okay to delete e-mail without even reading the message from any persons unknown to you.
Buddy circles that allow two or more persons to communicate simultaneously on e-mail need to be utilized with strict rules about when it's okay to disregard or cancel due to other pressing demands.
I don't use e-mail.
instant messaging is a convenient and effective way to communicate online.
instant messaging is a distraction and annoying.
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| Other comments about e-mail, time management, or etiquette |
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| speakerphone |
Speakerphones are perfectly acceptable in business.
Speakerphones are never acceptable.
You should always ask someone if it's okay to put him or her on speakerphone.
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| Other comments about speakerphones, time management, or etiquette: |
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| Please check off or place an x on the way that most closely reflects how you would rate the way you plan your meal time. |
excellent
good
poor
inconsistent
not a problem
needs work
I have a cook so it's not an issue
my spouse does the cooking
other
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| Check off any tools or products that help you manage your at-home meal time more efficiently: |
microwave
crock pot
convenience foods
take-out (ordering in from restaurants and/or picking up from restaurants or prepared food at a supermarket on your way home)
eating out
fast food
regular restaurant
friends' homes
cooking up big quantities in advance and freezing it, defrosting and reheating later
other (explain)
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| Please share an anecdote in the last year, at work or in your leisure time, that best reflects the time management challenges or triumphs that you're facing right now. |
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| Additional comments about time or time management such as books or articles you've read, seminars you've attended, tapes you've heard, that have been especially helpful to you: |
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| In the last 5 years, please share an anecdote or example of excellent business protocol you've experienced: |
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| In the last 5 years, please share an anecdote or example of the worst business protocol you've experienced: |
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| Where do you reside? |
Town
Suburb
City
Population
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| How long have you been living in this community? |
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| Do you do any volunteer work? |
Yes
No
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| If yes or sometimes, how many hours per week? |
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| What kind of volunteer work do you do? |
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| Where were you born? |
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| Where did you grow up? |
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| Do you have any brothers or sister? |
Yes
No
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| If yes, what are their ages and gender? |
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| Religion: |
(optional)
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| Race: |
(optional)
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| Do you have any friends at work? |
Yes
No
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| If yes, how many friends in each friendship category: |
best
close
casual
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| How many non-work friends? (insert # in each category): |
best
close
casual
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| Where did you meet the friend you now consider your very closest friend? |
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| After you met the friend who is now your closest friend, how long had it taken you from when you first met till considering each other genuine friends (not acquaintances): |
right away
6 months
1 year
2 years
3 years
other (please explain)
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| How did you get your first full-time job after graduating from school? |
through a relative
through a friend of the family
through my own friend
through a newspaper ad
through employment agency
through headhunter
school placement office
other (fill in)
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| How did you get/learn about your current job? |
through a relative
through a friend of the family
through my own friend
through a newspaper ad
employment agency
headhunter (search firm)
school placement office
promoted from within
through Internet listings
other (fill in)
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| What's the nicest thing a work-related friend ever did for you? |
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| At your company or workplace-setting, which of the following are correct etiquette? |
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| A man opening the door for a woman |
Yes
No
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| A woman opening a door for a man |
Yes
No
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| A man standing if a woman enters his office |
Yes
No
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| Keeping business confidences |
Yes
No
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| Being on time |
Yes
No
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| Exchanging holiday gifts |
Yes
No
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| Leaving at the end of the day: |
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| Before your boss |
Yes
No
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| after your employees |
Yes
No
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| Extending your hand to greet a man |
Yes
No
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| Extending your hand to greet a woman |
Yes
No
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| "Dressing down" on Fridays |
Yes
No
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| Addressing superiors by their complete name ("Mr. so-and-so") |
Yes
No
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| Addressing superiors by their first name only |
Yes
No
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| Has anyone at your company been fired within the last year for etiquette violations? |
Yes
No
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| If yes or sometimes, how many? |
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| Check off any of the reasons for those firings: |
violating dress code
using foul language
inappropriate office romance
excessive drinking
misuse of travel/entertainment privileges
saying the wrong thing
inappropriate behavior at a company function
drug use
Other (list)
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| What's your company's (business) policy on office romances: |
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| What business relationship at work (or in your business) do you consider the most important to your success? |
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| Have you ever been a victim of a crime? |
Yes
No
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| If yes or sometimes, please explain: |
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| Have you ever attended a seminar on organizing or hired a time management consultant? |
Yes
No
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| If yes or sometimes, please explain: |
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| Are you willing to do a follow-up phone or in-person interview? |
Yes
No
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| If yes or sometimes, please note the best time and place to call (e.g. office or home phone, time of day, weekday and/or weekend, etc.) |
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| How much time do you spend each day exercising? |
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| When's the last time you read a book just for your own enjoyment and what was the title and type of book (fiction, nonfiction, self-help, poetry, etc.)? |
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| Are there any questions about time management, business protocol, the office, work relationships, or work that I should be asking? |
Yes
No
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| If "yes," what are those questions? |
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Any comments or examples, if used, will be used anonymously. However, you may also indicate that you also grant permission to the use of your comments or example(s) in an attributed way.
I am granting permission for my comments or example(s) to be used in the following ways: |
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anonymously
with attribution (name) with just your first name
with attribution (nmed) with your first and last name
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Please note: By completing and submitting this survey, you have agreed to the anonymous use of your comments or quotes.
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| Added observations on work issues such as the time management philosophy you follow, business protocol principles, friendship trends today, office equipment or furniture that you find increases or hampers your productivity, any other work or workplace issues, your career or personal goals, especially anything that you think is unique or specific to your industry/profession/occupation:
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Please note: your e-mail or contact information is never shared with anyone else.
In case I want to contact you for a possible follow-up phone interview or to send you information on upcoming seminars or publications, please provide your contact information:
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| Name |
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| Title |
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| Address (work and/or home) |
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| City |
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| State |
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| Zip code |
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| Country |
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| Home phone (if outside the US., please include country code + city code + number) |
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| Office phone (if outside the U.S., please include country code + city code + number) |
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| e-mail address |
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| website (if any) |
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