Do
you sometimes feel a little bit out of control during your workday, wish you
had more time to do the really important things or feel like you are doing a
lot of wheel spinning on non-productive items? You are not alone. Eighty-five percent of people in the
workplace have similar complaints and part of the remedy is better control of
our day through more effective Time Management.
For
many of us, it is like the guy falling off the Empire State Building. While he
is free-falling to a certain unpleasant collision with the pavement below, a
co-worker pokes his head out the window at the 55th floor and inquires, “How's
it going?” to which our free-falling friend replies, “Well, not too bad...so
far!”
So
it goes with many of our days, free-falling through the day, not in control of
the events around us, spinning our wheels in an air of frustration that
eventually sends us crashing into the pavement of missed deadlines, higher
stress and lower productivity.
The
answer is not to work harder but to work smarter. Successful people do not necessarily put in
more hours but, instead, work their time in a more efficient manner to get more
done in less time. They control their time and understand that either they are
in control or someone else is.
Planning
is the most important step in effective Time Management. Three easy rules can be followed to help you
to significantly improve your productivity each day, which translates into
getting more done in less time.
First, make a “to-do” list on a clean sheet of paper or in your day planner,
such as a Day-Timer. List all items you
would like to complete today, if time permits.
Getting the items on paper gets them out of your head and in front of
you. Having all items on one list helps to bring these items into control and
avoids duplication and overlooking of important items. One list also gives a clearer picture of the
total amount of work to be done and allows for better scheduling. Fewer things will slip through the cracks.
Second, prioritize the “to-do” list.
Select from the list the most important item to be done. Ask yourself, “If I could only do one item
today, which would it be?” Put the
numeral “1” to the left of that item.
Next, select the second most important item and label it “2.” Continue the process labeling all items in
numerical order. As you start the day,
begin with the first item on the list.
Complete it (around the interruptions that will inevitably come your
way) and then go to the second item, then the third, etc. You may not complete the list but you will
always complete the most important items.
Making a “to-do” list is an important first step but prioritizing that
list ensures that we focus on the more important items rather than giving in to
the temptation of working on the less important items because they may stand
out more or because they are easier to do.
Third, follow this process every day.
Wearing yesterday's dirty old shirt or fingering through yesterday's
stale lunch is not too appealing. So,
just as you start the day with clean clothes and a new lunch, start with a new,
prioritized “to-do” list. Emotionally,
it will give you a lift to start each day with the new plan, but, more
importantly, it will give you a chance to reprioritize items left over from the
day before. For example, yesterday's
item #9 may become today's item #1. If
you are working off yesterday's “to-do” list, that important item may not
receive attention. Daily planning will
sharpen daily focus as priorities shift with each day.
These
three rules will help you to significantly improve your performance each and
every day and will help to reduce that free-falling feeling. You will find you
are getting more done in less time and you will feel more productive and less
stressed each day. (And that is a good
thing!)
