Getting it all done at work can seem overwhelming sometimes. You have too many projects to complete. Your calendar has too many meetings. And too many people are clamoring for more of your time. The trick to getting it all done, done well, and done on time is a simple four- step process that I discovered on About.com.
Step 1 - Pick What To Work On
The first step is to determine what to work
on. With so much to do, it’s important to that your time be spent on only those
activities that really matter. Be sure to work on what is truly important and
not just urgent. It’s hard to not drop what you are working on in order to deal
with the “crisis” of the moment. And there will be times when that is
necessary. Just make sure the issue that interrupts you really is important.
So
how do you determine what is really important? A good place to start is what
your boss is asking for. There are things your boss expects from you: reports,
activities, and other deliverables. These should be high on your list. He or
she also may ask for special things from time to time. Just be sure to
prioritize these special requests appropriately and push back if they would
require you to bump something important.
Step 2 - Get Started
It does not matter how well you have
prioritized, nor how good your plan it, unless you actually get started working
on the tasks you have identified as important. Stop planning when it’s good
enough. Stop talking about how much you have to do and how overloaded you are.
Stop wasting time on things that don’t really need to be done. Stop
procrastinating and get going on producing results.
Step 3 - Stay Focused
Start by planning your day’s work the night
before. Outline for yourself what you need to work on tomorrow and then
tomorrow work that plan. When you get interrupted or distracted from the plan,
work hard to minimize the distraction and get back to your plan. I have a
yellow sticky note on my monitor of the top three things I want to get done
today. I scratch them off when done. It’s a great visual reminder to me that
helps me bring my focus back to my plan.
Remember
the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 rule. You’ll get 80 percent of your results
from 20 percent of the projects you work on so find those truly important
activities and focus on them.
Step 4 - Use All The Tools Available
Finally, it’s important you take advantage
of all the tools available to help you get more done. Time management,
self-management, and delegation are important tools for any manager.
My
most valuable time management tool is A To
Do List That Works. I developed this tool
years ago because it works for me. It isn’t going to work for everyone because
we all work differently. Try it. See if it helps you. If so, good. If, not,
find or develop one that does work. Time management tools are also good for
helping you stay focused, as discussed above.
Are
you as good at managing yourself as you are at managing others? Do you stay
focused on the tasks that are truly important and not just urgent? Do you do your job the best you are able? Or do you cut yourself some slack? Are you harder on
your team than on yourself? Don’t forget that a key element of being a good
manager is managing yourself.
You
can’t make any more hours in the day to help you get more done. And working
80-hour weeks is seldom a workable solution. One thing you can do to gain more
time during the day is to offload some of the task that you have been doing
onto others. The key here is to Delegate,
Not Just Dump. Dumping your work onto others just
demotivates them and you end up spending more time correcting the mess than if
you had done the work yourself. On the other hand, delegation is a way to help
you with your workload, while at the same time training and developing your
team members.
Bottom Line
Focus
on what’s truly important, not just urgent. Get going. Stay focused. Use all
the tools at your disposal. And you will be able to get it all done
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