July 13, 2005
TIME MANAGEMENT: ONE SIMPLE TECHNIQUE
Blogging Tips Groupie Dustbunny 101 of Thoughts From the Perimeter said something in this post that caught my eye:
My time management skills suck, so there's still a lot I want to do, that I haven't gotten to yet, or that I started but didn't stick with, and plan to go back to
Which brings to mind the first time-management technique I ever learned, and that I still use:
1) Write down the 6 most important things you have to do today, in any order
2) Number them from 1 to 6, with #1 being the most important, and #6 being least.
3) Start with number 1 and work on it until it's either finished or you're stuck. Then move on down the list in a similar fashion.
That's it.
If you can't finish all of them, at least the most important items are out of the way, and you can start with a new list tomorrow.
Of course, you can always embellish the technique by breaking down each task into a list of smaller tasks, or adding estimated completion times so that you know whether you're on schedule, but you'd be surprised at how well even the basic format keeps you on track & moving along.
Give it a try.
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Tracked: July 22, 2005 09:17 AM
Thanks Harvey--for the link and for the TM tip. I'll try it! :-)
Gosh. That seems awful simple and straightforward.
Don't you have something really complicated, so I can give up in exasperation, and have an excuse not to get my s**t together?
Maybe I'll find one tomorrow...
I always worked that way when I was teaching. Except my daily list would usually comprise at least thirty things I had to do at work that day apart from actually teach.
A colleague once told me to start the list thus:
1. Make a list.
Apparently this relieves stress. I found it to be a waste of time, though.
Yeah, I need to make a list like tha --- Hey! A shiny quarter!
shit... herbey spends all day makin lists... never gets a fuckin lick of work done at all... too busy making stupid lists....
Yeah, but you should see my list collection! :-)
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