Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Managing your To Do List

   Okay, you have your to do list or master list.  Does seeing all those items make you a little uncomfortable?:  Use this tricks then,: Look at the list to see if there are some tasks that will not take a long time to complete ( I call this Batching- see The Organized Librarian)

   Take 15 to 20 minutes to complete theses task. Then you can feel wonderful about crossing them off your list. This can include routine weekly items( return emails, make phone calls, water plants, check recycling, do over due list, mark papers, ect)

   Now if you have some bigger projects - what to do? Date them with a time when they need to be completed.  Another I like to do bigger projects is to a) work with the end in mind and b) break the project into a series of tasks ( again   described in The Organized Librarian).

 In this way I can place several tasks foreach project  on a day when I know I have time to work on it.   Put them on your master list first. Then when each task  and project is done you can cross it off both lists and you are one step further  to completing your project.

  You may also note that some tasks never get done nor crossed off. It never achieves priority, Is is important or urgent? Is it something you think you should do? It is something you think someone should do/ Decide if really belongs on your list- Could it be given to your assistant?  Could it be dropped all together? Could it postponed to a later date?

  Your do do list helps bring order to your schedule. it also helps you focus on what needs to be done- what is important to you and to your position   when you can cross items off you will see  exactly what you have accomplished!

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