ANYBODY CAN DO THIS
Monday Aug. 26, 2019
My problem: getting more done is not about shortage of time, or how I manipulate my time, but from trying to do too much in each day, in every week.
My solution: do one thing, finish it – move to next thing
Works on Saturdays. Sundays too. Holidays, sometimes. Monday-Friday, to grab cat by its tail – not for the weak-willed or the undisciplined.
Picking three priorities each week. Making one ‘DAILY priority’ rivets my focus. Not to say other things don’t need and get my attention, but ONE gets first, most, and highest quality time. Results flow more easily when I’m not chasing distractions down their own rabbit-holes.
I’ve found this ‘one thing method’ requires choice-bending; work it until done, work it for a fixed period of time – then to next item on my triage list. One thing can be ‘all day’, ‘breakfast though noon’, or ‘from 10:00 to 11:00’. Varied as needed – sometimes switching mid-morning.
Schedules have tripped me up; time-saving tricks, splicing time, about getting more done, but I wanted to get more done better!
Working one thing only needs constraints, otherwise I might be working for weeks on one thing that consumes my mind and passion – while ignoring countless others; that really isn’t practical.
Like emergency room triage nurses – decisive, sorting most urgent from merely difficult, taking care of most critical first. I’ve learned, sometimes most important things aren’t emergencies but rather ‘spend serious contemplative time’ issues.
Focus has become my most precious tool. I guard it. Protect it.
Otherwise, I’m just another slave to too many things competing, too little time = mediocrity.
Anybody can do this … .
Reader feedback:
I needed this this morning. Thankyou, MJ, Calgary, AB
