| The more efficient I try to be the less effective I | | | | things seem more urgent or easier to accomplish? |
| often am. According to the legendary Peter Drucker - | | | | OK so I have the list - now I am ready to begin |
| as the story goes, efficiency is doing things right and | | | | working with maximum effectiveness. If I do not |
| effectiveness is doing the right things. That would | | | | succeed I have only myself to blame. |
| mean then that maximum effectiveness, what I | | | | In order to make sure I am doing the important |
| always strive for - sometimes more successfully than | | | | things, not the urgent I take the priority list to |
| others, would be doing the right things right every | | | | another level. You see I have set in stone objectives, |
| time. | | | | my goals are always front and center, and like you I |
| What is working better for me than ever before is | | | | only have a limited amount of time energy and |
| to make a list of things that I have to do, and then | | | | money with which to accomplish them. |
| ask myself, "If I were called up by the Army | | | | So I use the A, B, C, D, E process I heard about at a |
| Reserves (been there, done that) and were put on | | | | seminar 20 years ago. It is simplicity itself, otherwise |
| active duty for a month" and I could only finish one | | | | I could not sustain it over time. I just put one of |
| thing on my list - what one thing would that be? | | | | those letters in front of each task. This helps me |
| What is really the most important thing on the list? | | | | determine what, who, and how each should be |
| Try it, it's not as easy as you might think. Because | | | | addressed. |
| nothing seems to stand alone - everything is part of | | | | A means that this is very important, something that |
| one process or another, which one thing would you | | | | must be done and will cause bad things to happen if |
| do today, before you went to bed, that would leave | | | | it isn't accomplished. Typically, not always, this is |
| you feeling that you actually got the most important | | | | something only I can do. |
| thing on your list done? | | | | B items are also important, meaning they should be |
| Then ask yourself, so what if I could get only two | | | | done, and have less dire consequences if they are |
| things done? What would be the second thing on the | | | | not completed. |
| list? Go through this process for the first 3-5 things - | | | | C things are the "nice to do" things that I have to |
| you aren't likely to get through them all today but at | | | | fight down on the list to where they belong. They |
| least you can go to sleep knowing that you got the | | | | are important but definitely take a back seat to the |
| most important things done. | | | | above categories. |
| I am a list person. I have gotten into the habit of | | | | D stands for "delegate" - something I can get |
| setting my daily priorities by making a list on a legal | | | | somebody else to do for me. We all make choices |
| pad before I go to bed at night. What are the top | | | | here, but we usually don't think about them critically - |
| five things I must get through tomorrow. I order | | | | so we find ourselves delegating things that we don't |
| them 1-5 and then when I get up I look at the list | | | | want to do, A & B category things that we do |
| just to see if the order should be changed before I | | | | not like to do we delegate and do the C things |
| start working. | | | | ourselves. This is the road to delayed success if not |
| By the way, I have all sorts of digital stuff that can | | | | disaster itself. |
| and is used to keep my schedules and to-do lists. For | | | | E items are eliminated. There are lots of ways to do |
| me this is critical for those things that I might (would) | | | | that. I find that if I ignore E items long enough they |
| forget before it was time to do them. But for my | | | | will just disappear. |
| daily priorities I write them on a legal pad and cross | | | | OK so now that you can clearly see than 1-5 things |
| them off when the get done. | | | | you should be doing and use the above tags - the |
| There is a great feeling striking through a completed | | | | final step is to "just say no" to every other |
| task. And a lesson to be learned when I look at the | | | | distraction and focus single mindedly on the |
| list and see numbers four and five crossed off, but | | | | accomplishment of your highest priorities. |
| not 1-3. Were they not as important or did the other | | | | |