Deciding the order in which we tackle the various tasks before us is something we all do consciously (or unconsciously) every day.  There are many methods for prioritizing work.  In most methods, the main consideration has to do with comparing the potential consequences of doing or not doing each item on the list.  One of the simplest time management systems is the “A, B, C, D” method.

“A” Activities are “must do” activities that are important and often urgent. If they do not get done, negative–sometimes severe–consequences can happen. Such activities include turning reports in to your boss, delivering scheduled presentations, attending and preparing for important meetings. (For example, if you don’t turn in your health benefits information by the deadline you may not get any health insurance with your company.)

“B” Activities are important activities that ultimately will affect the degree to which you are successful in your job, but you may not need to do any or all of them today. They could become tomorrow’s A activities or you may need additional information to complete them.

“C” Activities are things that—if not done—probably won’t have short-term consequences that impact job success.  However, they may create problems if they are never attended to. (These could include reading journals, organizing your computer files, networking with peers.)

“D” Activities are your DON’T do’s. These may be tasks you need to delegate or skip altogether. (Example: Something is on your desk that someone else wants done, but you are not the right person to do it. Or it could be reorganizing your paper files when they are already sufficiently organized.)

Note: Procrastination can sometimes take the form of spending excessive time on D activities such as sorting through mail/email, reading the newspaper, or restocking supplies. These activities often seem productive but they can usually be saved for another time.

For each day, you should list 5-8 activities you plan to do. Estimate the time each should take and give yourself at least a 10% cushion.  Then label each activity A, B, C or D and tackle them in that order.

Excerpted from the Leader’s Guide for the CRM Learning program Time Challenged.

Need help in this area? Time Challenged is a favorite with trainees in all types of organizations. The humorous video provides the perfect introduction to the highly effective workshop that is included.

Everyone procrastinates at one time or another. In fact, of all time management problems, this is the one that is most obvious, and it is the one we most readily admit to.

Procrastination comes in many forms. It is doing the urgent rather than the important. It is watching television when you should be exercising. It is lingering over lunch, while things are stacked up back at the office. It is avoiding people rather than facing them when there is a problem. Whatever form it may take, procrastination is something we should strive to overcome.

There are several reasons why we procrastinate: the task is unpleasant, the task appears to be overwhelming, the task requires a decision, or the task is perceived as being of low priority.

To overcome procrastination, we must overcome an inertia that has set in, a tendency to resist taking action. From physics we learn that a body remains at rest until a force is exerted against it. Physics also teaches us that it takes less effort to maintain motion once the initial inertia has been broken. Here are some techniques to help procrastinators get moving and to stay on track.

1. Don’t try to do it all at once.
Too often we avoid starting a project because know we don’t have time to do it all in one sitting. This all or nothing approach rarely works, because most of us don’t have such large blocks of time. The trick is to see how much you can accomplish simply by chipping away at a project, even if it’s just 15 or 20 minutes at a time. You simply must not underestimate the cumulative value of a small amount of time performed on a regular basis. For instance, 15 minutes every day adds up to about 55 hours in the period of a year.

2. Start anywhere.
Starting “at the beginning” makes sense when doing something, which has only one logical place to start. We frequently put off starting on a project because we just can’t decide on the best place to start, even though it may have more than one starting point. And, we lose sight of the fact that starting anywhere is better than not starting at all. If you find yourself in this position, take the first step; any step, just get going.

3. Start imperfectly.
An obsession with perfection can be paralyzing. Believing that everything must be done perfectly can prevent an individual from starting. The beginning stage of a project is not the time to worry about getting everything absolutely right. If you start in plenty of time, you’ll be able to correct, edit, rewrite, and double check the facts. One way to crash through the wall of perfectionism is to start with an obvious error, which you can correct later.

4. The “drive yourself crazy by doing nothing” approach can be very effective.
Assemble all the materials for your project, arrange them in front of you on your desk, and then sit at your desk and do nothing for precisely seven minutes. Don’t even write down any of the ideas that come to you during this period. By the end of the seven minutes, you’ll be itching to start.
Incidentally, the reason for this specific amount of time is to make sure you actually sit for seven minutes. For most of us; “five minutes” or “ten minutes” tends to be a somewhat vague concept rather than an actual time period.

5. Work no more than 15 minutes at a time.
This is a very good way to deal with procrastination. Set a timer and then work full blast on the project for the next 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, you must decide immediately whether to stop, or to reset the timer and work for another 15 minutes. Most of the time you’ll find that you’ve already built up enough momentum, so that you don’t want to stop. You can work for hours using this method, yet it never feels that long because you know that a break is never more than 15 minutes away.

6. Start even when you are not in the mood.
Sigmund Freud once said, “When inspiration does not come to me, I go halfway to meet it.” If you wait for inspiration, you may never start. It’s more reasonable to establish a daily routine of settling down to work during your usual high energy periods, which will hopefully coincide with moments of inspiration.

7. Unpleasant tasks don’t get easier with time.
If anything, unpleasant tasks become even more so when we put them off. Furthermore, worrying over not working on a project consumes one’s energy, energy that could have been used more productively. It’s like swimming in the ocean when the water is cold. You can run quickly into the surf and deal with the shock in a few frigid seconds, or you can prolong the agony by stepping in, inch by shivering inch. So, when you have an unpleasant task, take a deep breath, jump right in, and get it over with.

8. Schedule a “Hell Day”.
A friend has discovered a way to confront all those annoying little tasks that we tend to ignore. Every month or so, she sets aside a day devoted entirely to those tasks. “Those days are hell,” she admits, “but you can’t imagine how terrific it feels to finally get all those things done.”

9. Honour your leisure time.
Make sure you have a reasonable amount of time for rest, relaxation, or just plain fun. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we can play only after we have finished our work. The “work before play” mentality is acceptable occasionally, but not over the longer term. Working long hours, for weeks or months on end, and feeling that you have to keep up that pace usually leads to inefficiency, unnecessary stress, and burnout.

You can be more productive over the long run if you treat your work life as a well-paced marathon rather than an overextended sprint. Putting limits on how much work you take on, developing a strategy for dealing with procrastination, and having some fun to look forward to when you’re finished, these things all help you to be more effective at what you do. And as an added bonus, your employer will probably benefit as well.

OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION
Take a few minutes to analyze your procrastination by asking yourself the following questions:
1. What things do I tend to put off most often?
2. What am I putting off right now?
3. How do I feel about my procrastination?
4. What has my procrastination cost me?
5. What is the cause of my procrastination?
6. What can I do to overcome my procrastination?

People procrastinate for many different reasons. The following tips may help you deal with your procrastination:
1. Avoid feeling overwhelmed by large tasks by breaking them down into smaller components and focusing your attention on these smaller, manageable tasks.
2. Don’t let the pursuit of perfection paralyse you with self criticisms and self doubts. Try to do your work well, but remember that no one is perfect.
3. Don’t wait until you “feel like it” to get started. Warm up by doing a small bit of work.
4. Record your progress by checking off the items on your list of things to do. Step by step, you then experience the satisfaction of accomplishing what you set out to do.

Copyright 2006. Reprinted with permission www.hr.com, your community for knowledge, expertise and resources.

FEATURED SOLUTION: The Value of Time: A millisecond doesn’t mean much to the average worker – but to a marathon runner, it’s everything. This brief meeting opener sets the right time-saving tone.

By George Wassell

Time Management. An interesting concept, and a topic that I’m asked to present fairly often in a workshop format. It occurs to me that what employers are really interested in is productivity. To actually manage time is an oxymoron, as time really can’t be managed in the way we would like to think it could. We’re just not that omnipotent. Helping people manage themselves so that they become more efficient at completing their work in a timely fashion seems to be a much more doable concept.

Time management has always amused me because I happen to excel at procrastination, and yet have memorized and present time management techniques. However, one needs to implement these wonderful tools and techniques in order to “manage the time”. Time continues to pass all around the world without regard or reference as to what we individually are doing at any given moment. Often people claim to just need “more time to get all this done”. Actually there is more time; it just keeps on ticking away.

I find “time management” to be somewhat like dieting. Not all things work for everyone, and the only way they work is if we are willing to be diligent at managing ourselves and accept the responsibility that it takes real effort to actually implement changes in our lives. If you are not pre-destined to be the multitasker of the century, the tips outlined here should help. Accepting that sometimes you may fail even with the best effort also allows you to not give up, but to try again, and maybe re-examine what other changes need to be made to successfully feel the sense of accomplishment. With that being said…. now here´s where we actually explore the possibility of getting more done in less time.

“Time may change me, but I can’t trace time…” David Bowie
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of” Benjamin Franklin

Have you ever heard of the “FranklinCovey” personal planning systems? Well, they originated from the outstanding organizational skills that Ben implemented in his daily life. Needless to say, he seems to have accomplished more in his lifetime than I expect I might in mine. However, this is not a discouraging fact, simply one to add inspiration to the motivation for getting things done.

In order to be a successful “manager of time”, we need to begin with ourselves and develop realistic expectations of what we plan to accomplish. As is the case for most personal accomplishments, our attitudes are extremely important in achieving our goals. Our expectations need to be clear and honest, removing the tendency to blame extraneous circumstances for our shortcomings.

Step One: Establish The Goal
There are two things to consider here. Your goal should remain constant, but the objectives and activities to achieve the goal can be flexible. Consider the whole picture. Renovating the house is a bit too broad. Keep it simple, like “finish marketing strategy for pincushions by 8/15/06″.

Step Two: Planning – Prioritize the Steps
“Planning is everything. Plans are nothing” von Moltke
One technique is to categorize the activities into 3 groups of varying importance. The planning part should include subgroups of WHO, WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE. For example, Can anything be delegated? If so to whom and when. Do I have all the necessary tools or equipment to get the task done? Have I accounted for conflicts with schedules, time frames etc.? Next, assign the amount of time given to each item and stick to it.

Although these steps can be time consuming up front, the amount of time saved by not having to “wing it” makes up for the outcome and the reduced stress! Remember, your attitude has everything to do with how you perceive time.

Procrastination: “A hardening of the oughteries,” or, “Why put off today what you can put off again tomorrow?” Well, actually the definition is “the deferment or avoidance of an action or task which requires completion by focusing on some other action or task”.

There are 1,440 minutes in each day. Many of us are not exactly productive for many of them in the way we think we “should”, or “ought” to be. This is where we tend to become overwhelmed, or “stressed out”. As I mentioned earlier in this series, how we manage time depends almost entirely on how we manage ourselves. Many people are known for their ability to waste time, while others seem to be able to accomplish a phenomenal amount in the same time frame.

Being a procrastinator doesn’t necessarily equate to being lazy. Some people have cycles of slower productivity, and then are revved up by the impending deadline. They end up getting everything done, but perhaps the toll it takes operating in that mode is what is annoying or limiting for them. We each have to decide what role procrastination plays in our lives and then make a plan to respond accordingly if we actually do desire to change our habit. Most of us need to acknowledge this fact, and then we can change our habits that limit our own productivity.

There are many reasons why we procrastinate. These differ for everyone. Some of the most common forms of procrastinating are:

Psychological:
• Unpleasant aspects of the task
• Low tolerance for frustration
• Perfectionism
• Confusion and poor organizational skills
• Fear
• Anger and hostility
• Not understanding your priorities
• Monotony and boredom fatigue
• Not taking responsibility for your actions, relying on others
• Insufficient information and resources
• Anxiety and depression

Physiological:
This mostly includes research done on the role of the frontal cortex of the brain. Damage and low activation are factors here. (Strub, R.L.1989 Archives of Neurology)

“Most of the stress people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do, it comes from not having finished what they started.”
David Allen

“Procrastination is the thief of time” Edward Young (1683-1765)

Time management as I have mentioned, is really about self-management. People who are naturally gifted with this talent are not reading articles on how to become effective at it, they are doing it! Once I presented a synopsis about procrastination. It is most imperative that individuals first understand why they are not successful in their time management quest, and then eliminate those behaviors and habits that are preventing them from reaching their goals. All the Blackberry planners and lists won’t help if we don’t make the effort to first admit that we need to actually do some changing ourselves. Hopefully, if you are motivated to change, you read the list and honestly evaluated where and how you “waste” time. Overcoming procrastination delivers a sense of empowerment and personal freedom. Some of us like to say that we procrastinate because we work best under pressure. Actually, we are working under pressure because we have no choice. Progress may be the result, but only because we have lost the freedom to choose how and when we will work on the situation at hand. Remembering back two weeks, essential factors of time management include the three P´s. PLANNING, PRIORITIZING, & PREPERATION.

Procrastination has the effect of reinforcing our negative attitude toward the task. This is negativity that will hinder your best efforts. This week, when you find yourself feeling frazzled or “stressed out” and overwhelmed, think about the self-talk going on in your head. Then, stop it, and begin telling yourself the benefits of not belaboring the mess your in. Only you have the power to change your thoughts.

“Even if you’re on the right track- you’ll get run over if you just sit there” Arthur Godfrey

“The more a person is able to direct his life consciously, the more he can use time for constructive benefits.” (Rollo May )

If you will recall, self-management is the key factor in “time management”. Until an individual is committed to obtaining results by practicing new skills and habits toward incurring these changes, the lists, nifty planners and gadgets merely become part of the old time management style of “procrastination into action”.

While reviewing the following “Time Management ” techniques, remember that your positive attitude and an honest and realistic approach will help to fulfill your goals.

The 3 Ps of Time Management: Plan, Prioritize and Prepare.

1.Plan ahead: Getting started is closer to getting finished. Stop procrastinating and become pro-active in the plan. Make it happen, don’t wait for it to happen.

2.Identify your goals. The results you hope to achieve are broken down into categories of objectives which are the basic steps needed to achieve the goal. Objectives indicate what you have to do. The action steps indicate when and how to do it.

3.A helpful tip: Sometimes, when you are getting bogged down, the action step may be treated like an objective, with a separate plan to achieve it.

4.Prioritize: Make a to do list, and then make sub-groups of tasks. These action steps are the detailed process for achieving the objectives.

5.Be realistic about scheduling. Limit commitments.

6.Prepare: Take a good look at what things need to be done in order. Do you have the necessary equipment or supplies? Are rooms available for your needs? Troubleshoot now, so you don’t waste time later.

7.Say “NO” sometimes.

8.Delegate work or tasks whenever possible.

9.Reward yourself for staying on track.
Concentrate on the results of your efforts, not on keeping busy. Refine the strategies that work for you, but don’t say you can’t do it!

“Do or do not do. There is no try”. (Master Yoda)

George Wassell coaches people on personal time management at Solutions EAP. Copyright 2006. Reprinted with permission www.hr.com, your community for knowledge, expertise and resources.

FEATURED SOLUTION: Time Challenged: This 20-minute video has practical tips to identify time-wasting practices and take back more of your day.