Pump Up Your To-Dos
January 20th, 2010 by Penny Hagerman
Are you a note taker? Could you keep Post-It Notes in business, with sticky notes stuck everywhere you go to remind you of important details and events?
Or would you, like me, be lost without your Outlook calendar?
Most of us have some sort of system to help us stay organized. And whether we use a pen and paper or our computer to keep track of things, whatever system we use needs to help us build value in our work and, above all, save time.
If you have a time management strategy, how efficient is yours? And is it really working for you? If not, I have a suggestion that could help you get and stay organized, courtesy of Scott Simmonds of the Insurance Journal.
Today Scott offered some advice that really makes sense. In his article, Time Wise: The To Do List on Steroids, he suggests making four separate lists to help you stay focused, in both your business and personal life.
Before you panic and object because you can’t get through one list, relax! Scott broke it down like this, so you can work on one list at a time and actually accomplish something.
- A Reminder List: A place to list everything you do every day and everything you need to do sometime soon. These are business and personal tasks. You either handle, postpone or delete each item as it ”pops up” in your to-do list.
- A Do-Not-Do list: These are items that could steal your time and attention– if you let them. They’re issues you shouldn’t get involved in because they no longer provide value, they’re a waste of your time, they don’t pay off, or you can delegate them to someone else.
- A Mission Activities List: Urgent activities that require your attention and are important right now. A prioritization of your reminder list that helps you get the most important things done first, then move on to the others later.
- A Success Activities List: These are important, long-term activities that aren’t time sensitive but make your life better in the long run.
If you have a hard time accomplishing anything, read Scott’s article and try his method of time management. Hopefully, it will increase the value of your work, make you more productive, save you time–and help you make more money.
