|
Below, you'll find extensive information on leading
flood risk articles and products to help you on your way
to success.
Time Management And The "to Do" List
By Carole Sue Jones, Sat Dec 10th
I recently did a web search on time management and received50,500,000 hits. In reality probably only two to three hundredof them were really about time management, but the prevalence ofsuch sites indicates how important the concept is to all of us.The time management industry is flooded with books about howmanage your day. Time management tools with everything fromcomputer programs for scheduling to the ubiquitous planner tosimple task lists can be found in every bookstore across thecountry. Yet recent reports indicate that we are working longerhours, sleeping less and decreasing productivity. How can you make time management work for you? Really that's the question, regardless of what system you chooseto apply to your time management needs, it has to be somethingthat can work for you. If your time management tool, choice orsystem doesn't work for you then it simply becomes another taskthat has to be accomplished in an already busy day.
Most time management starts with something as useful as a "todo" list. We all have tasks that must be accomplished within acertain period of time, whether that time frame is a single dayor a plan for the next several months. Tasks are added to thelist and crossed out as they are accomplished. Your "to do" listcan be as simple as a notebook page, a daily page in yourplanner, a function of MS Outlook or a task list on your PDA. In general a "to do" list is a simple and effective way to seeall the tasks that impact your day. Just follow a few simpleguideline and your "to do" list will work for you (and not theother way around). Creating and prioritizing a "To Do" list: 1. First create a simple To-Do List. Using whichever tool you'vechosen. 2. List all of the tasks for which you are responsible. 3. Don't worry about accomplishing everything right now. The keyis to get the right things done by prioritizing. 4. A To-Do list will most likely be a living, never-endingdocument. New things appear as old ones are cleared away. For each item on the list, answer these questions: One Time or Reoccurring - Do you have to complete thistask more than once? Often? Perhaps on a regular basis? Due Date - When must
the task be completed by? Time Required For Completion - How long will the tasktake to complete? Is the task variable? Other Resources Required - What other resources will beneeded to complete this task? Benefits and Consequences - What are the benefits ofcompleting the task? The consequences on not completing it? Use the answers to these questions to decide which tasks must becompleted first. Once you have prioritized your tasks you are ready to startscheduling them. Plan the completion of each task. Start with the givens. Block out those tasks with known times. Place the rest of your tasks into the schedule according to yourpriorities. Build in some flexibility so that you can handle life's littleemergencies. Pay attention to the resources required. Remember that youyourself are a resource. Match tasks requiring the most mentaleffort to those portions of your day when you feel the mostproductive. Don't forget to include personal time. (if you have scheduledevery minute of your day for work, when are you going torefresh, regroup, renew?) Most time management tools are really creative ways ofcompleting a "to do" list. If you choose to use something like aPDA or a computer program like MS Outlook you can easily managereoccurring events and meetings by reserving blocks of time andcreating reminders for those things that might get lost in thedaily shuffle of work and paper. If you choose to use a planner,remember to carry reoccurring event through to the next day,week or month. Once your comfortable working with your "to do"list you can expand it to include goal setting. While "to do" list may get you started on your time managementendeavors there are all kinds of thoughts and theories out thereabout how to effectively manage our time. I would like to thinkthat if I can complete all the tasks I have to accomplish today,and check them off my list, I might be able to schedule an extrahour of sleep. Maybe I can put it on my "to do" list. ;-) About the author:Carole Sue Jones is a contributing writer for InteractiveQuality Solutions. She is a training and instructional designprofessional with a strong focus on management development. Ifyou are interested in reading more of Carole's articles pleasevisit http://www.callcentercafe.com andhttp://www.righttolead.com.
|
