Do one thing that sucks, every day

One of the best habits I have ever cultivated is to do at least one thing each day that I would rather not do. The more difficult and unattractive, the better.

Find something for yourself, anything, that you know needs to get done, would rather not do and have been putting off. Do it. Now, repeat that behavior every day from now on.

You'll be amazed how easy this become over time. You'll marvel at your knowledge will increase and your personal borders expand. And, when you really need to do something really difficult, you will have created reserves of strength and energy to get the truly tough stuff done.

The power of right now

Several years ago I was introduced to The Productivity Handbook: New ways of leveraging your time, information, and communications by Donald Wetmore. It was a book that changed my life in that it allowed me to see just what an unorganized boob I was. I read the book from cover to cover, stopping only to work, eat, and work some more. I read in the morning. I read before I went to sleep. I read everywhere. One day I was admonished by a security guard in my building who saw me reading while crossing the street. Perhaps I took my new found productivity too far?

I kept lists. Scores of lists - things to do, places to see, skills to master, book and music to procure, ideas to write about, inventions to build, the lists - and the notebooks that contain them - are legion. And those were just my personal lists. There were work lists too. The lists themselves served an obvious purpose - to place thoughts into a referenceable state so I do something with them at some later point. Which was “almost” guaranteed to happen - once I found the notebook and made time to take care of the chore.

From the volume of tasks I had amassed in a number of locations it became obvious not everything could get done, and not everything should get done. Some of the ideas were bad ones, to say the least. It turns out I kept myself busy with list making in an attempt to ensure I was productive. But if the items never belonged on the list, or never made it off the list, was I really productive?

Clearly, being busy is not the same thing as being productive.

Somewhere out of all the mental clutter, I came upon a simple solution that always helps get m,e squeeze the most out of my time.

The two-minute rule.
If something can be done in two minutes or less, it gets done without delay. I started doing this and noticed the benefits right away. Making a call I dreaded meant I would soon put it in the rear-view mirror. Putting things away meant they wouldn’t be in my way later. Paying bills as soon as they arrived resulted in, well, paid bills! An added bonus is the great feeling that comes with really accomplishing things.

Oh, I still keep lists for those things that take more than five minutes. Each entry is prioritized and evaluated in a way that I hope makes Donald Wetmore proud!

Multi-tasking (is) for idiots

As a reformed multi-tasker I know how hard this might be to take. Mutli-tasking does not work. Does. Not Work. It dilutes your efforts and attention, turning it into questionable junk. It seems every role these days require we each wear a haberdashers rasher of hats, but just like wearing a hat, it makes sense to only wear ONE at a time.

Here's how I detoxed my office.
I made a little note behind my computer that only I can see. It says, "What did you accomplish today?" This helps to keep me in check when I start wandering and focused on creating results with tangible impact. Each Friday I review my tasks and make sure the list is complete and prioritized for the upcoming week.

Fend off time vampires.
Forward calls to voice mail and turn off email. These tools were created to catch missives while you are unavailable and not to make you salivate like Pavlov's dog - let them do their job - turn them off. While you're at it, find the alert sound for your email and turn that off too. Fending off vampires at your door is a bit trickier and one I'll blog about in an forthcoming post. For now, let folks know you're in the middle of something and will need a few minutes to get back with them. Be realistic as to when you expect to get to them. Don't say "five minutes" if it's more like an hour.

Prioritize your most important (highest value) tasks.
I keep a list of all my important tasks, the dates they are due, and who had requested them. I subsidize this list with additional tasks such as staff one-on-ones, presentations, monthly reporting, budgeting, and innovation ideas. With most commitments, I tend to want them complete one week in advance of "actually" being due. This gives me time to reflect, edit, and polish.

Offload!
At the start of each week I review the tasks I have set for the week - at least the one's I know about at this point. I consider which, if any, tasks would provide good growth opportunities for my staff. Things like reporting, research, and presentations are always prime candidates since they are tasks I know cold and can use to help others grow in their understanding of the operation. I'm a fan of this model and have found it develops trust and energizes those asked to expand thier duties. It also has the added bonus of providing insight into how the team views the organization.

Focus.
Once the task list is updated - note I don't ever remove items, they are still on my radar for tracking purposes - I settle into the first task and do not stop until I have it completed. I really wanted there to be a bigger secret, something grand and never before heard, but that's all there is to it.

What techniques do you use to keep yourself on task and on track?