Urgent or important – which takes priority?
Thursday, April 7th, 2011 at 7:47 am
At the moment I feel I am in crisis management – not that we are in the middle of a crisis at K&H, but because I have so many things on the go at the minute that I am moving from one urgent thing to another, without being able to get on to the more important, but less urgent things.
I am sure we all feel like this at times (if not all of the time), so I was interested to read an article from E-Myth Worldwide, which suggested how it is possible to organise worklife to get on to those things that really should get done, but never do. We have probably all heard this before, but it is good to be reminded of it periodically.
Did you know, for example, that on average we all get interrupted once every eight minutes? No wonder we never get on to anything.
The article gives us all a challenge – to set aside one hour a day to think more strategically and see how much our business (and our lives) improve – and suggests ways of doing this , even by just going down to the local coffee shop for some much needed time out to be able to think.
Read the full article here – and let me know how you get on…
Tags: crisis management, e-myth
May 2nd, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Pauline- you are too modest to mention that you DO get the important things done. But it always amazes me that most people who claim to have no time to do important things are the same people who seem to have time to spend hours watching TV or on social media sites. There is nothing wrong with this (necessarily), but they should be honest with themselves about their real priorities and not blame externals factors for depriving them of time.
May 28th, 2011 at 11:08 am
I use a system inspired by Getting Things Done (David Allen). I find it helpful, too, to set aside a certain time each week – usually Friday – to tidy my desk. That means going through the in tray, pending tray, and every outstanding item, and clearing as many of the annoying little bits and pieces as possible. Emphasis is definitely on clearing quantity, even if it’s just passing stuff on to someone else. Doing this for a couple of hours each week makes the piles a lot more manageable and you feel better for it!
You can’t do much about interruptions, though, so long as you work with customers, staff, suppliers…
May 31st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
I agree entirely, Kate. I do strongly subscribe to the policy that a clear desk leads to a clear mind. There is nothing more depressing than looking through a pile of papers and seeing the same thing over and over again. It really starts to wear you down. Another great book to look for is Focus by Stephen Covey. This is where Stephen leads you through the process of identifying your values, then setting goals but more importantly then how to plan weekly and then daily to ensure you are achieving those. Worth a look!