Loughborough

# 14 – 8th March 2008

Avoiding To-Do Hell

(The Power of the Minute)

Most of us work from some form of to-do list. We plan carefully and then we work on the items that catch our eye based on:

• How loudly they are being chased;
• Who we promised;
• How much fun they are to complete;
• How good we feel doing something, even though we are ignoring the items that might make a real difference to our business.

Human nature tends to overtake good intentions such that we work on some things at the expense of other more productive items that we dislike.
 
By the time we get to one of the tasks that we have been putting off, we can usually find an excuse to go and deal with a “High priority emergency” – like that email from a friend with the great joke in it. I expect there have been times when you have looked at the telephone and willed it to ring – with any kind of interruption – anything – as long as it gives you a good excuse to avoid THAT TASK!

Our tendency to procrastinate is also fed by a natural inclination to waste small chunks of time before appointments or at the end of the day. We do this because there is not enough time to complete a complete task from our To-Do list. Instead of using this time constructively, we sit (or stand) there inventing reasons to ignore the tasks we have been putting off all day. To make these minutes productive, we must first break tasks down into smaller chunks (this is starting to lead in to planning). We must then overcome the human characteristic that stops us working on the tasks that we dislike.

• One way to overcome this is to add two extra columns to the to-do list:
• Makes a difference weighting (score 0-10)
• Lots of fun measure (score 0-10).

At the end of the day, spend one minute (no more) scoring tasks that have been completed. Use the outcome of this process to plan the tasks that will be worked on tomorrow. Then you can reward yourself with a fun task, only when you have completed the two tasks that are in the “Drudge” category (those two tasks that have been on your to-do list for several weeks). You can also plan your day around when you have most energy. We all have a time in the day when we feel more enthusiastic – balanced by times when we feel less motivated. Use the information you glean from scoring your to-do list to match tasks to moods. Tackle tasks that really make a difference to your business when you are at your best. You might even allow yourself a reward. Save tasks that you find make you feel better for when you are at less than your best – use them to help you get back in the groove more quickly.

Task Scoring

	What	Difference	Fun	Done
1
2
3
4
5

 

Paul Fileman MIET CEng MCIM
Chartered Marketer
paul.fileman@talktosps.com
Tel:  01509 854447
Mob: 07969 188820
www.talktosps.com