Well that’s Thursday almost done, it has been a rather unproductive day here. Not because I am short of things to do. But more because I failed to plan my day properly. Yesterday, I finally got the school report system all up and running. Then in the evening we went to see a play in Cambridge.
Because of this I failed to follow my usual rules for planning my day.
Now in my mind I knew that there was a list of things that I needed to get through. I also knew the first job to do (so that wasn’t a problem when I started this morning). It was what happened next that scuppered the day so nicely.
Before I knew it anhour had gone by and my brain was buzzing with different ideas inspired by the book. I then managed to put on the brakes I wrote a big note on my white-board to follow up on a couple of the methods.
But the upshot of all this was that I had lost my way in the day and now I was running out of time. I then couldn’t decide where to start - so many tasks to do - but which one to choose. Now this isn’t the first time and it probably wont be the last. But I kick myself every time I get into this situation.
In my past working (for someone else) life I have been on many ‘management’ courses on better time management and more recently with Success University I have studied strategies on how to stay focussed and get things done. But still I get it wrong from time to time (like today).
So if you want to get the most out of your day follow these simple instructions.
- At the end of your working day allow 5mins to make a list of all the tasks that need to be done the next day. Then mark the most important one that you plan to start in the
morning. - When you start work the next day. Work the list starting with the most important one. Then pick the others to suit what is going on around you.
- If someone asks you for something don’t just drop what you were doing (unless its a real emergency). Complete the task you are working on and then decide whether it has to be
done now or can it wait. - Keep a running list (I use a note pad) of tasks.
- Keep a list of things that you think about doing. So rather than check out things as they come into your mind. Write it on your list and allow time each day to explore these things, just before a break or lunch is a great time to do this. Never just after or you will get
distracted.
I find that if you do this you will get things done, feel a sense of achievement and free up more time to enjoy your life.
Please let me know how you manage your time.
To your success,
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Nice post. I get distracted by the ’shiny balls’. Am learning to write them down and keep focused on the task at hand. Would not want a great creative idea to slip away.