Tag Archive for ‘Organization’ at DrivenLeaders.com

We all have 168 hours in every week. No more, no less. And though many of us might wish we could, we will never have the power to add to that number. Our level of success is directly related to how we manage our time each and every day.

For those aspiring to get ahead, every new day brings greater challenges, new opportunities, and undoubtedly additional items to add to the “To-Do List.” We constantly have more and more demands placed on our time and it seems the closer we get to achieving our goals, the more and more things we have to get done each day. Setting priorities and planning ahead is no longer a “nice to do” option, it’s the price of admission in being effective.

The more time you invest in planning and setting your priorities before you begin your day, the more you’ll be able to accomplish — and the faster you’ll get those tasks done.

I know this isn’t breaking news - you’ve heard it before. Yet even knowing this, a majority of people neglect taking a few extra minutes to truly plan for their day and internalize what they want to accomplish in that given time. The key to maximizing your time and efforts is learning to identify and work on the most important tasks until they’re complete. Prioritizing is one of those things that sounds easy, but can be hard to do consistently. There are various published techniques on how to become better at setting your priorities; however the one I have personally found to be the most beneficial is the “ABCDE Method.”

It sounds basic, but if you truly understand the power of this technique and implement it every day, you will be amazed at its effectiveness.

The ABCDE Method of Prioritizing

The ABCDE Method requires that you review your list of given tasks and put an A, B, C, D, or E next to each one in order of priority. The way that you determine your highest priority at any moment is to think about the potential consequences of doing or not doing a particular task. The very act of performing this excise and thinking through your tasks before you start work will dramatically increase your efficiency and effectiveness once you begin working.

A - “A” tasks are extremely important, they are considered must do’s. They have serious consequences if they are completed or not. Whether you do them or don’t do them can have a major impact on your results and your success. You should always do your “A” tasks before anything else. Assuming that you have more than one “A” task, organize them by priority, as A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on.

B –“B” tasks are things that you should do, but they’re not as important as A-tasks. They have mild consequences if completed or not. Doing it or not doing it may cause some inconvenience, but the consequences are relatively minor compared to A-tasks.

C - “C” tasks are those that would be nice to do, but it will have no consequences at all. Whether you do them, attempt them, complete them or not, they will have no consequences in your life or work at all. They usually will not contribute to your long-term success in your personal life or career.

As you can tell by now, the general rule is to never to a “B-task” when there is an “A-task” left on the list. Likewise, never do a “C-task” when you still have “B-task” left undone. Stay focused on all the “A-tasks” before moving on to a “B” and so on down the list.

D - “D” tasks need to be completed but should be given to someone else to complete. Putting it bluntly, delegate them! The only time you should spend on these tasks is the amount of time it takes you to figure out to whom the task should be sent to and the needed direction for completion. The more you can delegate, the more time you will have to focus on the “A” tasks, which have the most impact on your success and happiness.

E - “E” stand for eliminate. These are the activities that are no longer important in the achievement of your most important goals today. When you take a close look at it, much of what you do during the day or week can be eliminated with no consequences at all.

Once you have completed this entire exercise, go back to you’re A-1 task and focus all your energy and concentration on starting and completing this job before you do anything else.

Give it a try! Or if you’ve had success with a different method, leave a comment with your suggestions. If done right, you’ll soon be asking yourself, “What am I going to do with my 168?” Now wouldn’t that be wishful thinking…

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clock21 Time Management 101: Add an Extra Hour to Your Day Think of some of the most successful people you know. Have you ever wondered – “How do they do it all?” I’m not going to lie, I certainly have. The balance of work and personal life is not an easy one, especially when you are trying to do both at an extremely high level. But as I’ve found over the past few months, it is possible to increase your productivity on multiple fronts by making a few minor adjustments to your normal routine. Below are 8 sure-fire tips to boost your productivity and save time in the process.

Get organized. Highly effective people are organized people – period. Organization is the backbone of productivity and the first step to adding hours to your day. This may seem to be “easier said than done,” but you really can do it, if you commit to it. Personally, I have always been a fan of keeping things simple. A former manager once told me that there were four ways to approach a new item or task: 1) Handle it, 2) File it , 3) Delegate it, or 4) Get rid of it. Though this may be over simplified, but limiting your options does force you to take the action and get things off your plate.
Schedule everything. (…and yes, this includes fantasy football) Salary.com conducted a survey revealing that the average employee wastes 1.7 hours of a typical 8.5 hour work day. Sounds crazy, yet we all do it! Wasting valuable time limits your production and costs both you and your employer money in the process. Keep one detailed calendar and refer to it the day before to get prepared.
Streamline your processes. Figuring out a better way to do something you do daily will make life a lot easier. Often technology can make a job easier if you are willing to look for (or pay for) a particular program or application. If it will help your cause, it’s worth it the cost. For starters, try Google or webware.com to get a listing of the most popular applications. (Webware lists the Top 100 applications as chosen by 1.9 million people) Bottom line, streamline your processes and you will finish faster.
Establish routines and stick to them. Your daily tasks will be easier once you figure out smarter ways to do them, and know when to do them. Once you get these new habits into your routine, you’re well on your way becoming more productive!
Multi-task only when it makes sense. Most people think: “If I can do more at once, I will get done faster.” Not always the case. If you’re doing something that doesn’t require much thought, it’s okay to multi-task. On the flipside, when you’re work requires you to truly concentrate, multi-tasking will promote errors and most likely additional headaches in fixing them.
Plan ahead. Now that you’ve established order in your life, you can think clearer, and won’t continue to get blindsided if things get thrown at you on short notice. The moral of the story - Plan ahead, save time.
Learn how to say no. (Really it’s OK!) One of the hardest lessons for me to learn, was knowing when to say no. Being determined, motivated, and career driven has many advantages, but it often leads you to being over extended. Making a good impression doesn’t have to mean accept every project that comes across your desk. Be selective and put forth your best effort on a few projects, rather than a mediocre effort on multiple projects.
And finally, don’t quit. No one ever said that adding an hour to your day was going to be easy. It will be challenging. There will be bad days, but you’ve put together a great plan now challenge yourself and stay committed! By executing the above, I have been able to add what feels like at least an extra hour to each day and you can too! Think about it - What would you do with an extra hour each day? Pretty soon, you’ll be the one everyone wonders about…