As I have previously written, I recently started Business school and some changes at work have given me a great deal of responsibility. As I add activities, I subtract sleep. I have been exhausted for a long time, and I can't seem to keep up with the rate that things are being added to my to do list.
Friday morning, I took a different approach. Before I even had coffee (see I'm not an addict), I sat down and went over the things I had to do. In the process, I came up with even more things to do, too. On the good side there were some tasks I could delegate and defer until much later. But at the end of it, I had a very long, prioritized list of things to do.
I felt energized after it all. I knew what I had to do on this day and even in what order. It was important because I didn't have any extra time as I had to prep for a weekend outing.
And just to draw the day to a close, I got everything done and I was ready to leave on time!
Now, I'm sure that this technique isn't news to those in the productivity world. But it was great to have such clarity of purpose and the right energy level to attack a busy day.
It worked wonders for me and I'll be repeating this strategy in the future. Mid-terms are right around the corner and I'm facilitating a 6 hour breakout session at an annual comapny meeting (and I'm flying in and out the day of the presentation); my plate is gonna be full for a while.
3 comments:
This has nothing to do with your post, but I know you'll love it:
http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=2451
Darn you!
You are side tracking me...
I was focused on Friday!
I am a list-making fiend, so I appreciate your post. I have a Far Side daily calendar on my desk, and I keep the pages as scrap paper. At any given time, I have 2-3 page-a-day calendar lists roaming about the wilds of my desk. And not only are lists a good organizational tool, the making of them is an excellent way to procrastinate!
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