SAPIENTIA
Control The Free-Fall
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 Daytimer. 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!)
Written by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore