To Do or not To Do - That is the Question

The 80-20 rule applies to To Do lists as well. 80% of the items collectively contribute only 20% of the results. Those 20% of the items, the real priorities, should be scheduled in your planner as appointments with yourself so get them done. If you’re in doubt about whether something should be scheduled or put on a To Do list, ask yourself, “What would be the consequences of not getting this done?” If the answer is “Very little,” add it to your To Do list.

It’s best to use a planner to house your To Do list, not separate sheets of paper. You could easily misplace a separate sheet of paper. And you might also spend time copying the sheets over as they are diminished to two or three remaining items. There’s also the added advantage of seeing what you did each week since the crossed off items remain intact.

With a weekly To Do list you have next week’s To Do list as well. Each time a new task surfaces, you decide whether it should be done this week, next week or even later, and add it to that page.

Whether you use a week at a glance or a day at a glance planner is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to see how my week is shaping up. I like to be able to instantly spot my plans for the entire week and see what time I have left for additional projects. Robert Hochheiser, in his book Time Management (Barrons,1998) also claims that with day-by-day calendars you would have to turn pages four times to go from the beginning to the end of the week. But for many people that’s not a big deal.

 

Reducing Interruptions

A study of office workers found that they were interrupted every 11 minutes on average. You can’t be interrupted this often and still remain efficient. It may be impossible in your situation to work consistently without interruptions, but here are five things you might consider.

1. Get away from your desk if you need privacy to concentrate. Use a spare office or boardroom for an hour. Other “quiet” areas include the cafeteria (but not at lunch time) or even your car in the parking lot.

2. If you can’t leave your office area once you’re there, can you work at home for the first hour of every day?

3. If not, can a staggered hour (or flexible hour) system help out? Arriving early before most of the employees arrive, and before the outside calls start coming in, can decrease the interruptions. But be sure to leave early as well.

4. Can you reduce interruptions for an hour by taking a late (or early) lunch and work at your desk during the “normal” lunch hours when most people are away?
5. If the above strategies are impossible, can you use the buddy system? Ask another employee to take all your calls for an hour and you can take all his or her calls for an hour in return.

If all else fails, make your “open area” as private as possible by adding screens or plants. Face away from the main traffic flow while you are working. Avoid eye contact with passersby. Hang a sign on one of your partitions that reads “My door is closed”, “Quiet Hour.” ”Be back at 2:00 p.m.”, “Typing Confidential Information”, or whatever. And watch those self-interruptions. Engage the voice mail and stay away from the email while you are working on priority tasks.

 

APPLYING THE 80-20 RULE

APPLYING THE 80-20 RULE

 

Twenty percent of your possessions get 80 percent of the use, so store those frequently used items where they're easy to reach. Stash the remaining 80 percent somewhere out of the way. This applies to files, clothes, tools, supplies and books, among other things.

 

SLEEP IS A PRIORITY

 

Don't let work crowd out sleep. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy drivers cause more than 100,000 motor vehicle accidents each year.

 

FOR EMERGENCY CALLS ONLY

 

The quickest way to lose sight of your priorities is to give scores of people instant access to you.

 

WHERE DO YOU START?

 

In order to determine the steps to achieve a goal, start With the goal and keep asking the question, what has to be done before that? Write he steps down in reverse until it takes you to the first thing you have to do. Now you have a step-by-step procedure for achieving the goal.

 

DEFINITION

 

A To Do List is the practice of wish craft.

 

DON'T BE DISTRACTED FROM YOUR PLAN

DON'T BE DISTRACTED FROM YOUR PLAN

 

We all want to work on priorities. But what we want to do and what we actually do are two different things. The key to effectiveness is getting the things done that we schedule in our planners. This involves commitment and self-discipline.

 

WISE SAYINGS

 

We can't do everything at once, but we can do something at once.

 

LIVE YOUR PRIORITIES

 

Make sure your planner reflects what you believe to be important.

 

LET YOUR E-MAIL ACCUMULATE

 

We lose about two minutes for every e-mail interruption.

 

STAND-UP MEETINGS

 

You can make difficult decisions up to 20% faster when standing instead of sitting.

 

OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION

 

List the advantages of doing the task and compare them with the consequences of not doing it. The result may convince you that it should be done.

 

SCRAP THE SCRAPS

 

If you must keep scraps of paper with notes or reminders on them, at least staple them to an 8 ½ X 11 sheet of paper so they don't get lost before you get a chance to act on them.

 

 

PROCESS OF DELEGATION

PROCESS OF DELEGATION

 

Delegation is a process whereby a higher authority exchanges a given weight of authority and responsibility or an equal weight of obligation and accountability. First, determine the responsibility, then the amount of authority needed to carry it out.

 

WE CAN'T DO IT ALL

 

Reserve your yeses for the priorities and say no to the others.

 

MEAL TIME

 

Arranging all tools and ingredients on the counter before cooking a meal can save between 10 to 27 minutes

on meal preparation time.

 

THE KEY TO EFFECTIVENESS

 

The quality of your effort will determine the quantity of your results.

 

TRIM YOUR TO DO LIST

 

Apply the 80-20 Rule to your To Do List, removing the 80% that collectively contribute only 20% of the results.

 

HASTE MAKES WASTE

HASTE MAKES WASTE

 

Most  women spend half an hour a day duplicating tasks due to haste.

 

DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST

 

Skipping breakfast deprives your brain of the energy it needs to function at its best.

 

PERSIST FOR 21 DAYS

 

When building a habit, don't allow yourself to slip that first time. Slip once and it's easier to slip again.

 

MOTIVATION TO ACHIEVE GOALS

 

Tell others about your goals. The fear of embarrassment if you back out should strengthen your commitment.

 

THE TIP OF YOUR NO'S

THE TIP OF YOUR NO'S

 

A tip for saying no is to be polite, firm and helpful such as, I'm sorry but I couldn't possibly take on another activity at this time. Have you considered contacting the college about their work experience program?

 

FAMILY DAYS

 

If you are a working parent and hard pressed to get quality time with your child, consider a family day together

periodically, such as on the child's birthday, when you can take a day off school and work and spend the day at the park, zoo or some entertainment center.

 

MULTITASKING ON THE ROAD

 

It is reported that 71.4% of the drivers in a study were either eating or drinking while driving. 45.7% were grooming, 40% were reading or writing, and 34% were talking on the cell phone.  Driver inattention is the number one cause of traffic crashes. So it's a costly way of saving time.

 

EAT LIGHT LUNCHES FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE

 

People who ate large lunches performed worse than those who had eaten only a sandwich. Alertness and efficiency are at low ebb about two hours after one begins eating lunch.

 

PREVENTING UPWARD DELEGATION

 

You distribute a policy that staff may interrupt you if

a. They have a decision to make that exceeds their authority,

b. They require information that can only be obtained from you.

c. They are really truly stumped.

 

OVERTIME CAN DECREASE PRODUCTIVITY

OVERTIME CAN DECREASE PRODUCTIVITY

 

Overtime was not cost effective since after ten straight hours of work, fatigue sets in and procrastination plummets.

 

WORD PROCESSING SHORTCUT

 

To change caps to lower case, hold down the Shift key and press F3 with the cursor on the word you want changed. Keep pushing to go from lower case to upper and lower case.

 

LAW OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

 

You should assign, delegate or outsource any job that can be done at a wage or cost less than you earn.

 

TALK IT OUT

 

Discussing problems with others eases stress. Perhaps that's why married people live longer than single people.

 

LIMIT YOUR GOALS

 

Too many goals leads to frustration & stress. Five major goals each year worked well. Limit your goals and maintain focus.

 

YOUR WORKPLACE IS IMPORTANT

 

Workers using good quality adjustable furniture did 10% better at data entry than members in a control group.

 

PACKING TIP

 

Zip lock bags are handy items to take along on a trip to house cosmetics, medications, foreign change, wet bathing suit etc.

 

VALUE OF PLANNING

 

Spending 10 to 15 minutes every morning mapping out your day can save up to 6 hours a week.

 

DEFINITION

 

Procrastination: The art of keeping up with yesterday.

 

 

YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF

YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF

 

The fact that you can do a job better and faster is not a legitimate reason to do it yourself. Always seek ways to

free up time for more important tasks through delegation and outsourcing.

 

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

 

When interrupted by someone asking if you are busy or whether they got you at a bad time, tell the truth. Don't feel obligated to change your schedule unless it's an emergency.

 

FORGET WHERE YOU PUT THINGS?

 

People with a diastolic blood pressure above 90 often have difficulty remembering and learning new tasks.

 

BIG WORDS WASTE TIME

 

Keep your writing simple. If your message is not understood, communication has not taken place.

 

MOTIVATION TO GET ORGANIZED

 

The closer the reward is to the expenditure of effort, the greater the motivation. When getting organized, start by applying ideas that will produce immediate results.

 

 

PROCEDURES SAVE TIME

PROCEDURES SAVE TIME

 

A procedure is a step-by-step description of how to accomplish a specific task. If you don't have procedures, make it the responsibility of all staff members to draw them up for the repetitive tasks they perform. You will avoid crises and time loss during absences and facilitate new employee training.

 

DON'T DELAY DECISIONS

 

If a decision needs to be made, we should make it. They claim that having an acceptable decision in time is better than having a perfect decision too late.

 

REDUCE TELEPHONE TIME

 

When someone starts to read figures, information or instructions over the phone, ask them to fax or e-mail the information to you instead.

 

RELAX THROUGH READING

 

Reading takes us away from our problems, giving us a mini-Vacation.

 

LONG HOURS MEAN SHORT RESULTS

LONG HOURS MEAN SHORT RESULTS

 

Performance declines 25% after a 60-hour workweek. The fatigue factor tends to reduce both concentration and productivity.

 

PROCRASTINATION IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH

 

Procrastination is physically harmful. College students who procrastinate have higher levels of drinking, smoking, insomnia, stomach problems, cold and flu.

 

DISORGANIZATION AND SELF-ESTEEM

 

A disorganized home or office can be frustrating but it doesn't make you a bad person. Separate yourself from the condition. Being disorganized does not make you inferior. Don't feel guilty. Simply decide now to get organized and work at it gradually.

 

SPAM ON THE INCREASE

 

Nearly 76 billion Spam e-mails were delivered over the Internet this year. Can you imagine the time consumed simply deleting them?

 

DON'T SEND E-MAIL ON MONDAY MORNING

 

Most people have overflowing in-boxes on Monday morning and have itchy tigger fingers as they delete as many messages as possible. Yours stands a greater chance of being deleted.

 

THE POSITIVE APPROACH TO TIME MANAGEMENT

THE POSITIVE APPROACH TO TIME MANAGEMENT

 

Your prime purpose at work should not be to avoid wasting time, but to achieve significant results. The former

Mindset encourages you to keep busy; the latter encourages you to be productive.

 

E-MAIL ETIQUETTE

 

Every e-mail should have a salutation and closing. Don't  assume your e-mail address will identify you.

 

DISTRACTED DRIVERS

 

30 percent of the drivers used cell phones while driving, 97 percent leaned over to reach for something and 91 percent fiddled with radio controls. Swerving was most likely to occur while reaching, eating, using cell phones or tending to infants.

 

PERFECTIONISM IS UNHEALTHY

 

Perfectionists are 75% more likely to get sick than other people.

 

THE FIGHT AGAINST SPAM

 

25 percent of all e-mail is Spam. That's reason enough to investigate Spam-fighting software.

 

PERSONAL E-MAIL CONSUMES TIME

 

One-quarter of employees are receiving 5 to 10 non work-related e-mails at the office every day.

 

 

NO LONGER LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

NO LONGER LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

 

Don't ease up on your stress-relieving activities during the summer months. Everyone's more prone to stress during the summer than at other times of the year.

 

LESS IS SOMETIMES MORE

 

When he was younger he thought that living life to the fullest meant doing as much as possible. But  later he felt empty and dissatisfied. He realized that while he was doing more, he felt as though he were experiencing less.

 

SELECTIVE READING

 

More information is generated in a 24-hour period than you could take in for the rest of your life. We are being swamped with information. Recreational reading aside, zero in on information that serves a productive purpose; don't feel you have to read the entire book, article or report.

 

ALWAYS KEEP A SPARE

 

When you install the last copier cartridge, printer ink, projector bulb etc., always replace it immediately. Don't

Be caught running to the office supply store to keep a piece of machinery going.

 

PLAN IN THE EVENING

 

Spend at least 15 or 20 minutes at the end of each day to plan for tomorrow. If you leave it until the morning you may walk into a crisis and never plan at all. If you plan the evening before, you will be reserving your prime time for action, not reflection.

 

BEING KIND COULD BE A TIME SAVER

BEING KIND COULD BE A TIME SAVER

 

Studies have shown that helpful people live 2 ½ times longer than ungiving people. That figure seems extreme, but even a small extension of lifespan is a significant gift of time.

 

TIME FOR EXERCISE

 

If you don't have time for that daily walk, suggests the following: Drive your car to the far end of the office parking lot and walk, use the stairs instead of the elevator, and bring your lunch to work and use the extra

time to take a walk.

 

WHEN VACATIONING, TAKE YOUR MIND ALONG

 

When you take a vacation, leave your office work behind. It makes no sense to get away from it all and then take it all with you.

 

QUIET HOURS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE

 

If your office is as busy as a bus terminal, you may try being unavailable at a specific time period each day. This may involve closing your door between 11 AM and noon or disappearing into a vacant boardroom. Make sure your staff is aware of your routine.

 

CONTROLLING MEETINGS

 

Procedures be drawn up for meetings. For example, the maximum length of time, limits on the number of participants and blackout times when no meetings are to be called.

 

LACK OF TRAINING WASTES TIME

 

If you find you are searching the office for the one person who is able to clear a paper jam or change the voice mail message or repair the fax machine, it's time to start training. There should be more than one person who is able to perform the various tasks around an office.

 

STAY SEATED

STAY SEATED

 

Once you commit yourself to work on a task for an hour or so, you should stay seated until the time is up. Resist the urge to interrupt yourself, even to get a coffee. Self-discipline is the key to personal productivity.

 

EASY ACCESS MORE IMPORTANT

 

We have been trained to focus on neatness at the expense of accessibility. Make sure your materials are accessible first, then consider neatness as a secondary factor.

 

E-MAIL OBSESSION

 

Unless both parties can type faster that they speak, it's usually more time effective to schedule a phone call or a meeting rather than carry on lengthy discussions by e-mail.

 

TAKE A TECHNOLOGY BREAK

 

What would happen if you didn't use your computer, fax machine, cell phone, e-mail or electronic gadgets for a full day? Well, the recent power failure indicated we would take time to actually speak to one another, be helpful, exhibit creativity and make the most of a bad situation. If the blackout had been planned, would it have relieved stress as well? It makes you think that a periodic break from technology might not be a bad idea.

 

IDENTIFY YOUR PRIORITIES

 

If money were no object, 43% of the respondents would travel and 29% would spend time with family and friends. It usually doesn't take much money to spend time with family and friends. Have you identified what's important to you? And if so, are those priorities reflected in your planner?

 

DO IT NOW

DO IT NOW

 

It's more important to do something than to do it well. Never delay something that could cause problems later simply because you're not good at it. You learn by doing, not by delaying.

 

FINISH WHAT YOU START

 

There's a limit to how many projects you can juggle at the same time. Don't start another project if the incomplete ones are already consuming most of your time. Getting the Best of Yourself, when you begin multiple projects, you usually end up with multiple incompletions.

 

WHEN IDEAS DON'T WORK

 

If you make changes only to find that you slip back into your original time wasting habits, it could be that you have not bought into the idea. Changing your behavior without changing your mind seldom results in permanent behavior change.

 

DEFINITION

 

Ineffectiveness: Doing perfectly that which is unnecessary.

 

STICKY PAD

 

If you use your car dashboard to house sunglasses, cell phone or wallet while driving, you could be wasting time retrieving the items from the floor or under the seat after the trip. You can stop these items from sliding every time you turn a corner or come to a sudden stop by applying the new Sticky Pad. Sticky Pad is only a few inches in diameter, conforms to any dashboard, is removable, washable, reusable, and believe it or not, works!

 

BE IN THE MOMENT

 

Our mind is always working in the future or the past and that we should slow down and dwell on the present as it happens. Otherwise we will miss much of what life has to offer.

 

ORGANIZE MEETINGS BY E-MAIL

ORGANIZE MEETINGS BY E-MAIL

 

The average time it takes to arrange a meeting by phone is ten minutes compared to three minutes by e-mail.

 

THE PAUSE THAT REFOCUSES

 

I read that a pigeon's eyes can't focus as it moves, accounting for it's strange walk. The bird has to pause between steps In order to refocus. It reminds me that we should frequently pause to refocus as well. If we proceed at a frantic pace without pausing, we could easily lose sight of our mission. Periodically review your goals and make sure your motion is moving you towards your mission.

 

PUT A STOP TO POP-UPS

 

It takes time to close those ads that pop-up unannounced when you're connected to the Internet. If you have that problem, you might consider downloading the free Pop-up Stopper software from www.download.com.

 

COLLEGE STUDENTS PRONE TO PROCRASTINATION

 

70 percent of college students report problems with overdue papers and delayed studying.

 

MULTITASKING

 

Your computer is great at multitasking. You can write articles while performing downloads or scan for viruses as you send e-mail. But your brain is not programmed that way. So beware of trying to do two things at once, especially if they are complex or require your undivided attention. Studies indicate a drop in efficiency between 30 percent and 50 percent on the individual tasks performed while multitasking.

 

WEEK AT A GLANCE PLANNERS ARE BEST

WEEK AT A GLANCE PLANNERS ARE BEST

Robert M. Hochheiser, in his book Time Management (Barrons, 1998), claims that with day-by-day calendars you would have to turn pages four times to go from the beginning to the end of the week. He further suggests that monthly calendars usually don’t have sufficient space to allow for detailed action plans.

CONTROLLING TELEPHONE TIME

Keep telephone calls brief by directing the caller to the business at the beginning. For example, “Hi Bill, What can I do for you?” or “Good Morning Sally. How can I help you?” If you make the call, get right to the reason for the call. “Jim, I have two quick questions for you concerning the new hiring policy.”

STRESS CAN BE DEVASTATING

Everyone has heard about the traditional diseases that can be brought on by excessive stress, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and ulcers etc. but according to Woman’s Day Magazine (11/18/97, Is Stress Making You Sick? By Stephanie Wood) other illnesses aggravated by stress include: Acne, asthma, colds, diabetes, diarrhea, flu, hives, infertility, PMS, psoriasis and stomachaches.

HIGH COST OF DISORGANIZATION

Statistics reported in the May 1993 issue of Inc. Magazine revealed that 7.5 percent of documents get lost completely and 3 percent of the remainder gets misfiled. $120 in labor is spent finding a misfiled document and $250 in labor is spent recreating a lost document.

UNCLUTTER THE HOME

If you can’t bear to part with all those infrequently used possessions, rent some storage space. It’s cheaper than a bigger home or apartment. If you haven’t missed anything after one year, get rid of the stuff permanently.
 

EARLY RISERS

 

Only a few men live to old age, and fewer still become successful who are not early risers.

 

 

Working with voice mail

Voice mail is a great time saver because it allows you to leave detailed messages without having to talk directly to the person. On the receiving end, it allows you to receive important information while you’re away from your phone or home as well as provides some “quiet time” when you must work undisturbed on an important task. But here are five things to take into consideration when working with voice mail.

1. It is not a screening device to see who is calling before you answer. When you’re available for calls it should be disengaged. You should return calls promptly when it is engaged. Most calls should not have to be returned if the caller leaves a complete messagewith detailed information. To avoid frustration on the part of the caller, give them the option of talking to someone else in the event of an emergency.

2. Whether recording a message on your own voice mail or leaving a message for someone else, be sure to speak slowly and clearly. Repeat any telephone or fax numbers. People simply can't write as fast as you can speak. A good way to insure that you’re not talking too fast is to write the information down as you speak it aloud. If you can’t keep up with yourself, nobody else can.
 
3. Plan any calls you make before you make them. Chances are, you’ll be leaving a message on somebody’s voice mail and you don’t want to be stammering and stuttering and forgetting half of what you wanted to say. Jot down the things you want to say or points you want to make - brief headings - on a telephone log form or steno pad - or on an electronic communications form if you dial from your computer.

4. Voice mail is exactly that, a form of mail. Don't leave the person a simple message to call you back. Leave a complete and detailed message. If you must leave a message to call back, indicate in the message when you can be reached. Also indicate what action you want the person to take.

5. Remember that the telephone is there for your convenience, not the reverse. You're not expected to be available at all times. If it’s not against company policy, have calls diverted to voice mail during certain "quiet hours" when you want to work on priority tasks. You can't be effective while constantly reaching for the 'phone, unless fielding telephone calls isyour job.

 

You need to be both efficient and effective

Time management in any environment, electronic or otherwise, involves working both efficiently and effectively. You are working efficiently when you complete tasks in the best possible way. You are working effectively when you concentrate your efforts on the best possible tasks. What you do is more important than how you do it.

It is impossible to do everything that we would like to do. There are simply more jobs to do than there is time. Working efficiently, crossing off each task on a “To Do” list as it’s completed, is not necessarily good time management. We must first determine our goals, both personal and job-related, and then select those important tasks that will help us achieve these goals. Then we must schedule time in our planners to work on these goal-related activities.

Most people use their planners for meetings, appointments, and other activities involving people. They relegate their own wants and needs to an ineffective “To Do” list. Who has time to work on a “To Do” list when other people’s priorities are clamoring for our attention? When we fail to schedule time for our own priorities, we are showing more respect for other people’s time than our own. We should at least give ourselves equal billing. This is not being selfish, it is being effective. Other people’s wants and needs may be the same as our own; but in many instances they are not.