The arrival of fall always feels somewhat like New Year s to me. Probably a memory of getting ready for school to start each fall with the shopping trips for new notebooks, new pencils and pencil box, new school clothes, etc. Fall brings with it a feeling of new beginnings for me. Which of course means New Year s Resolutions. This fall I am working on becoming more productive and getting more accomplished in less time every week. Also, I ve noticed that the more organized I am, the less daily stress I struggle with.
I read recently that executives waste six weeks each year looking for things they have misplaced. I also read that Americans waste nine millions hours daily looking for misplaced items. I feel I am fairly well organized but I still often find myself trying to figure out where I put something so I d be able to find it when I needed it.
How often do you spend time searching for your car keys? Do you often pay late charges because your bills are not paid on time? Do you have trouble remembering where you saved a document on your computer or what you named the document? Do you often have an extremely busy day but at the end of the day realize that you left important activities undone? Are you often staring at the computer and waiting became it is running slow today ? Unfortunately, I often have to answer yes to all these questions.
The best time management recommendation I have come across recently suggests a TO DO list everyday with the three most important tasks for that day at the top of the list. Even when I have a list of important tasks, I often will do other tasks that seem more inviting at the moment rather than an unpleasant task at the top of my list. After all, the other tasks on my list need to be done also, right? So I am working, right? But unfortunately, the end of the day arrives with a very important but unpleasant task still undone. It was a long time before I realized that doing a pleasant but less important task because I felt in the mood to do it was actually procrastinating. And often the task that I was in the mood to do did not really advance my long term goals. So this fall I have a new rule. I still list the most important three tasks at the top of my list. To be on the top of my list, the task must have a consequence if it is not completed today. For instance, if a bill does not get paid today I may end up paying a late fee. Or I have to buy a birthday present or send a card because the birthday party is tomorrow or the card will not arrive by the birthday if not sent today. And if I don t have any tasks that need to be done to avoid consequences, then the task must be a stepping stone to one of my long term goals. And an important part of these goals being on the top of my list is that they have to be done FIRST before other tasks are done. That way if something happens to derail the rest of the day, my top three important tasks are done.
REMEMBER THE QUOTE: “Efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right things. ~Peter Drucker~
Other rules I am working on this fall include: doing away with multi tasking. I now concentrate/focus on one thing at a time . If I only have a set amount of time to devote to a task, I set a timer so I can relax about what time it is and not worry I will forget when to move to the next task.
As I leave work each day, I now take time to straighten up my desk. I lay out those files or items I will need first thing in the morning. As I arrive home each day, I put my car keys and cell phone in a specific spot. The same specific spot each time. (Copying this one habit alone can save you six weeks of time each year see paragraph two). As I get ready for bed each night, I straighten up the house. I plan tomorrows TO DO list. I now use only one calendar and one TO DO list for everything. I found that when I used one calendar for work and another for home, things ended up being missed or confused as to day or time.
I have also been cleaning the junk from my computer more regularly so that it runs faster. I use a free program called CCleaner. It empties the recycle bin, clears the web browser cache and cookies, the temporary directories, as well as scans and fixes the registry. It works with Windows 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista and 7, in both 32 and 64 bit editions.
One final change I am trying to adopt this fall is to make sure I get adequate sleep every night. Sleep deprivation contributes to multiple problems including weight gain, decreased productivity, and lowered IQ. I m finding that my changes this fall have brought me increased productivity and my neater less cluttered home and office have actually decreased my overall stress.
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