Organize Tomorrow Today (Part 1)

Org tomorrow todayMy dad was a docking foreman of large ships for Rivtow Straits.  As a foreman, he was responsible to dock gigantic ships and make repairs.

As a child, dad would bring me to the shipyard and show me these gigantic ships.  Although he would explain many parts of this enormous ship to me, all I recall now is how powerful the small rudder was that steered the enormous ship. This small rudder kept the ship on course through calm and stormy seas.

Time management is like the rudder on a ship. It is a tool that can steer us through the calm and storms of life.  Just as a rudder is a crucial part of the ship, the ability manage time is a crucial part of our lives.

Time Management is a Learned Skill

A skill is strengthened through repetition. As we daily make a conscious attempt to control and allocate time toward things that matter most in our lives, we actually accomplish more. However, if this skill is not practiced daily, our lives will be busy but not productive.

Organize Tomorrow Today

In Organize Tomorrow Today Dr. Jason Selk and Tom Bartow propose some great skill-building ideas on time management. I highly recommend it!

Over the next few weeks, I will share some ideas from Organize Tomorrow Today in an effort to encourage you to keep building your important skill of managing time.

Here are a few key ideas to get started:

  1. Try to do less. Miller’s Law says that people can only process up to seven concepts at a given time.  Therefore, when it comes to time management if we want to accomplish more, we need to shorten our daily to-do list and focus on key tasks.
  2. Prioritize your work.  Each day select 3 important tasks and 1 must do task.  Indicate the time of day that you want to accomplish the tasks by and try for doing it earlier in the day.
  3. Lose the computer (maybe). Write your tasks longhand rather than record them on a computer. There is scientific evidence that writing out your list by hand will help your subconscious mind to get to work on those written tasks. Now if you are like my husband and this is just too much for you because of your devotion to your Outlook or some other digital planner, you can opt out, but think about it. Maybe an experiment?

I find it helpful to have an appointment diary that has the week at-a-glance and a place to record my Master to-do list for the week.  Then, each day, I review my master list and select 3 important tasks for the day and then the 1 must do task.  I record these 4 items on a small post-it note and stick it in the appointment diary.  As I complete each of the tasks, I stroke it out.  Once the 4 tasks are completed for the day – then I can select any other task I’d like to conquer.  I am amazed, by the end of the week – I have accomplished over 28 tasks.

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Ken Deeks

Ready, Aim, Influence!

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Organize Tomorrow Today (Part 3)

Organize Tomorrow Today (Part 2)

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