prioritization | It's Worth Noting

Productivity

Use a sharpie for your weekly planning

June 23, 2011

Every Sunday evening or Monday morning I pause for 5-10 minutes to plan out the week ahead. Over the years I have used a variety of methods, but none have been as easy and effective as a sheet of paper and a sharpie. Today, I replicate that by using a pen on my iPad, but the process and output is the same. The secret is that a single piece of paper combined with the thick lines of a marker keep you from writing too much down. The method forces you to focus on what can actually be accomplished. Spending time planning to complete too many tasks or pursue too many goals is a waste of time and is demotivating. Forced prioritization simply yields better results. How-to: The picture above is my plan for next week. You can use the Weekly Planning Template (pdf) I’ve created or make your own by computer or…

Setting aside a day for that one thing

April 6, 2011

What’s that one thing, whether at work, at home or in a relationship, that you could do that would make all the difference in the world? It lingers and weighs on you, but somehow you never have the time, energy or courage to tackle it. The more you neglect and postpone, the more difficult it becomes to start or complete. Want a simple solution? Grab your calendar and block off a day called “that one thing”. Life won’t pause around you and there will be other demands on your time, energy and attention, but guard the day with vigor. Make your only objective to do the one thing of consequence that has alluded you in the past. The trick here is a dedicated day with a singular focus. That one thing keeps alluding us because we try to squeeze it in when we need to create room for it to…

Do the difficult work first

December 29, 2010

Think about all the things you need to get done, whether at work, home or another context. Now think about the things on that list that are quick or easy and the things that are time consuming or challenging. Compare the two lists. Consider which is populated with tasks that are more transformational for you and others, will have a bigger impact or will help you leap, rather than simply step, ahead. Inevitably, the list with time consuming or challenging tasks stands out, but it’s not where most of us spend our time. The gravitational pull when we awake each morning is to be attentive to the quick or easy stuff. As the day goes on, we struggle to fit in anything else. If you want to consistently leap ahead, have an impact and be transformative, start your day doing the difficult work first.