Do you want four easy ways to improve your time management? Are you falling victim to your own diary? Are you focusing your energy on things you can’t control? Then keep reading for some easy ways to make the most of your time.
What I’m sharing with you is a simple productivity tool. One that has helped my clients organise and manage their task list.
The first step is to make a list of all the things you need to do. This list is flexible, you don’t have to complete it in order and tasks can change or adapt when necessary. At this point, all you need is a complete list.
The Default Diary Tasks
Before you go further in prioritising that list though, you must first identify the core, non-negotiable items. What is it on your list that absolutely must be done, otherwise the consequences will be truly dire?
These items you need to add to what we call your “default diary”. That means simply going into your calendar and putting in a recurring item that happens every week for those items to happen. This is something I do personally and it works. If you do not put that time into your calendar, and you just leave it on your list, the chances are much more likely that it will slip. If it’s there every week, there’s no way you’re missing it. Setting up a recurring event on your diary is simple enough.
The 4Ds Framework
Once you remove the non-negotiable activities, you are left with the tasks that you choose to do. And that is an important decision you make, because when you choose to do something, you are also choosing not to do something else.
There is a school of thought where people think it is best to create a list and then just crack on with that list item by item until the whole list is done.
However, I believe that after you make a list you need to be extremely selective in what you do from that list. It is not about hard work and doing everything. It is about knowing where to strike and what to focus on.
But the question is, how do you choose what to do and what not to do? That is where the 4Ds framework comes in, and which I have brought up in many business coaching training sessions before.
This framework is based around 4 ways that you can categorise any task you do:
- Do the task yourself.
- Delegate the task to someone else.
- Defer the task to another time
- Dump the task altogether.
The way you should work through this framework – and the 3 questions you should ask yourself of any task on your list – should be from the bottom up.
Question 1: Can I Dump This?
This is the first thing you should ask yourself of any item because it is too easy to fill your list with unimportant and irrelevant items that make it very difficult to see your other tasks.
Can you strike this task off your list? Is it there just because you like making long laundry lists? You might realise that this task is not actually adding value to your business. If it’s not important, not relevant and not progressive, strike it off your list.
Question 2: Can I Defer This?
So you’re left with a task you can’t get rid of. Ask yourself if this task needs to be done right away or not. Is this something that can wait until next week, next month, or next quarter? Will it actually help move company run better or move faster if it was done now?
And finally, is this task something that won’t make a significant difference whether you do it sooner rather than later? Defer it.
Question 3: Can I Delegate This?
Ok, so you really need to do this task today or this week, then you need to move up to the next step and ask yourself can somebody else do this?
Can you delegate this to a business partner or to a team member? Will someone else do this better than you, or will it empower someone else in your team to take on a role of greater responsibility in the business?
Learning how to delegate effectively is a really important part of team management. If you are constantly thinking that it is better for you to do things yourself because it will be faster, then that is another problem altogether which may involve a broken team model. It is nearly impossible to achieve sustainable growth without a capable team supporting you.
You may then need to consider a better recruitment process and team management / leadership strategies.
Alright, Just Do It
If you have moved through these three questions, then you ready. Now you have the tasks that only you can complete.
But if you ask yourself those three questions first. You will find that your “Just Do It” list is not just a whole lot shorter. Now your time is focused on tasks that move your business forward.
This is a system that we integrate here at the Bristol office. I know the value of my time and the importance of making sure I spend that time on activities that are moving my business forward. Simultaneously, I am constantly raising my team members up with greater responsibilities. Now our businesses are in a state of constant growth and I have mastered my diary.
Have you started using this system in your business? What is the best productivity / time management approach you have used successfully? Know of any other great ways to gain control of your task list? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
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