The start of the “New Year” usually “makes” us make resolutions, only to lose interest or to be overwhelmed by outside influences. Sometimes it’s not the activity but the fact, time didn’t allow you to accomplish. We have used the saying “ran out of time” or “there is not enough time” or “Time got away for me” You know you can control that! We will never get more time but can manage your time and then, gain more time… Here are a few ideas to get you going.
Your Priority List
At the end of each work day, make a list of the top eight things you need to get done TOMORROW. Focus on the top 2, especially, if there is something that you are avoiding doing, but is important to you; consider putting that as number one on your list.
Clear your Mind
List everything that you need to do & list everything you are thinking about.
Give them Action Steps
Figure out what steps you need to take to accomplish these tasks by asking these 3 questions…
§ What is my outcome? What do I want in this situation?
§ What is the next action step I need to take?
§ Is my next action something I can accomplish in less than 1 day? If not break it down into smaller steps.
An action step is something that you can do, and not something that is dependent on another person.
Classify your list of tasks and/or action steps in to one of these 6 categories.
§ ! = A daily priority list - This is today's priority items and should have a small number of items on the list (usually less than eight).
§ D = To Do - If you are really busy and have lots of items on your list you might want to separate this into important to-dos and less important items. Your important items are tasks that can be completed this week. Include ONLY items that you actually can do
§ H = On Hold - You may even want to separate this list into “on hold for a short time” and “someday maybe”, with the distinction being that the first list is stuff that you don't want to do now but will want to do in the next few weeks and the someday maybe list is stuff that you might want to do some time, but have no intention of doing in the near future. These lists are very valuable because they are a placeholder for your ideas and enable to you be realistic about the fact that you can't accomplish everything in your life right now.
§ F = Follow up – A list of items that you are waiting to follow up on. This is where you are waiting on someone to take action or get back to you.
§ G = Goals –This is the medium and longer term stuff that you want to achieve in your life. Goal setting is a very powerful process and if you don't have written goals this is something that you definitely should do.
§ P = Projects - This is a list of all items that will take multiple action steps to achieve. With projects it's crucial to work out what the next action step is so that you are constantly in forward motion.
Organize your list by Categories
You need to visit your lists regularly, if not weekly. Follow these few ideas and you will increase your free time by being more productive. Next time we are going to visit your “ahhhhhh” emails!
