2. Remember that each project
expands to the time allotted to it, so set a limit for yourself: I am going
to return all my phone calls in an hour. I will file papers for 30 minutes. I
will spend 15 minutes picking up around the house. Set a timer. You will be
amazed how much you can get done when you focus your time. My clients report
that they are much more efficient and effective when they set a time limit for
specific tasks.
3. Check your self-talk. Do you
frequently say, "I gotta…," "I should…," or "I have
to…"? Replace this self-talk with "I choose to…" and recognize
that you are at choice about what you do. If you don't choose to do it,
don't do it!
4. Eat a live toad first thing
in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
Tackle that "toad" -- the task you have been putting off, the one
that is hanging over your head -- because it will lift an immense load and you
will feel much more productive.
5. Train yourself to trim the
F.A.T. When papers come into your office or home, give yourself these three
choices: File, Act, Toss. (Note that "I'll just put it here for now"
is not one of the choices.)
6. Relieve yourself of the
stress caused by all of the clutter in your home and office by setting up some
systems to manage the paper in your life. A good filing system and a tickler
file system are essential elements. My clients report that the tickler file
system makes a huge difference in their ability to effectively manage paper and
prevent important activities from slipping through the cracks.
7. Make a weekly appointment
with yourself to plan your coming week. During your planning session, schedule
important activities and tasks so you have a concrete plan for following
through with your intentions.
8. When planning your time,
include both urgent (time-sensitive) and non-urgent but important activities in
your plan. An example of an urgent activity might be a meeting or a project
with an upcoming deadline. A non-urgent activity might be exercise or
relationship-building - something important but not time-sensitive or
deadline-driven.
9. Make appointments with
yourself to get administrative work done, such as paying bills or catching up
with your reading. Treat this time as you would an appointment with someone
else.
10. Take 15
minutes at the end of each day to put things away and look at the calendar for
the next day. Gather what you need ahead of time so you will be prepared for
tomorrow.
Tips provided by Kathy Paauw, Paauwerfully Organized
3 comments:
I like those tips!! I am going to try some of them. Thanks for a helpful post.
Very good tips here. Very nice to see practical advice on this topic. In today's world, it can also be helpful to address electronic communication vs. just paper. I try very hard to handle as little paper as possible. But that doesn't mean less to handle. It just changes what I handle and in many ways - makes it easier. I have a similar approach to what you stated with one other possibility - I call it the 4 D's of doing.. Do it now, Delegate it, Defer it, Delete it. If I defer it though - it's going on the calendar as a planned task. That keeps things managed. Love your blog name!
Thank you Kathi and Melinda - this practice of procrastination is always a tough one for me. Really like your 4D's, Kathi.
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