Try Something Simple

While at a conference last week, I was talking with a couple of business people about what Juggling Elephants and some of the strategies we share in the book. One of the individuals said, "I heard a speaker on time management last year and they gave me the best advice." "What was it?" I replied. Her response was priceless: "They said I should keep one to do list instead of having multiple places where I write things down." I would have expected to hear that 20 years ago, but not today.

In a time when there are a bazillion techniques to improve how we manage our time, it's good to remember that the simple solutions often offer the greatest potential for improvement. Simple techniques like:

• Take 10 minutes to plan your day
• When making your task list, list things you WANT to do, not just what you HAVE to do.
• Before leaving work, clean your desk of clutter and items from the day.
• Keep a note pad and pen next to your bed. As you have thoughts you want to remember, write them down instead of trying to remember them first thing next morning.
• If there are physical items you can't forget to take to work the next day, load them in the car the previous night.
• Keep only one calendar
• Review your task list throughout the day-not just when you first make it.

What are some simple solutions you find that work for you?

Time To Go Home

You look at the clock and realize that you should have left work 20 minutes ago. "Where has this day gone?", you say out loud to yourself. You quickly pile everything into a stack , throw some stuff into your bag and rush out the door. On the drive home and throughout the evening you think about what you have left undone and what you are going to do tomorrow. If the above description is a typical "end of your day routine", consider an alternative strategy.

Set an alarm to ring 15 minutes before it is time to go home. When the alarm goes off, STOP! Quickly finish what you are doing and E.N.D. your day:

1. Evaluate: Consider what went right and what went wrong with your day. Review your meetings and the tasks you accomplished. What was successful and is worth repeating tomorrow? What wasn't so successful and can be improved upon? Make some notes. Schedule some tasks. Self reflection and learning is a powerful and lifelong tool. Too often we rush and fail to learn from our successes and failures.


2. Neatness: Organize and/or clean off your desk/work area. File the papers that you were working on. Put away and organize your clutter. When you return to work in the morning and find your work area clean, you get a good start on your day and hit the ground running.


3. Diagram: Diagram and plan what you are going to do tomorrow. First, review your calendar. What meetings do you have? How much time will you have to work on other tasks/projects. Based on the amount of time available, what will you get done? Make a list. Prioritize it. Delegate, Delete and Delay what isn't going to fit in tomorrow's schedule. Leave some time for interruptions and emergencies.

15 minutes have past and you can go home with peace of mind - not to mention that you are leaving "on time". As you turn the lights off, mentally signal to yourself that you have earned the right to step out of your "work ring" and now it is time to step into your "self ring" and/or "relationship ring".

It's All About The Throwing

Seth Godin is one of our favorite authors and bloggers. His ability to make you think is incredible. Last week he posted a blog about juggling. His first line deserves repeating here: Throwing is more important than catching.

We won't spoil the blog for you. But reflect on that one line in relation to planning the use of your time and energy. If we create a thorough plan of how to best use our time, we will get more done than if we weakly plan and then spend much of our time reacting to crises and other tasks that are simply convenient and "close at hand." Plato said, "The beginning is the most important part of any work."

How could you improve your throwing (planning) so that you are better at catching and ultimately keep accomplishing your purpose (successful juggling)?

Quality vs. Quantity

Think about this question for a moment-Is it easier to put more time into something or to improve the quality of something? In other words, is it easier to do more (work faster) vs. doing better?

Doing more is an investment of time but doing better is complicated. It takes learning, brainpower and trial and error. In fact, doing better can require an investment in time as well (quantity). Maybe it is time to slow down and assess the quality of the work that you are producing. If the quality of work is related to the things that are most important to you then the quantity isn't going to be as important.

Sentaku to Shuchu

While reading the online article, Defiantly, Panasonic Pushes A Vast Catalog, I came across an interesting phrase: Sentaku to Shuchu, which means "choose and focus." The phrase was used in respect to what major Japanese electronic companies like Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba need to do to stay competitive. Atul Goyal, one of the people interviewed in the article states, These companies need to think: what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses, and focus on their core strengths. Sounds like good advice for organizations OR individuals struggling with too much to do.

For the electronic companies, the advice is that they need to choose the products on which they can best produce and compete, and then focus on making them successful. The article regularly cites Apple, which in the electronics world, is everyone's icon of "Sentaku to Shuchu."

What about you? As you look at your potential task list today and the "acts" that could be part of your lineup, how will you choose which ones will get completed? Will you just create a "vast catalog" of mediocre acts? Or will you choose ones that will accomplish your highest values and goals? And what will you do to create an atmosphere where you can focus on creating the best outcomes possible with these acts?