Do you find yourself sinking under the blaze of busy? Are papers marching across your desk in such a mad frenzy that your mind is goes blank the moment you sit down? Ahhh. What to do? I face this challenge myself on a daily basis, and asked fellow Huffington Post blogger Karen Leland, author of Time Management In An Instant: 60 Ways to Make the Most of Your Day to share tools to untangle your day.
Write It Don't Fight It
All those undone items tug at you to get done today, or be as far off in the future as retirement. The trick is to gather them together by writing them down so that you don't have to waste valuable mental real estate trying to keep track of them.
Think of your brain as a computer hard drive - it can only hold so much memory. When a hard drive reaches it's capacity, it starts to slow down and wonky things happen. (What are your weary wonks? I know we will all get a laugh out of sharing them.) By capturing your open items on a list your brain is freed up to focus on what's in front of you right now. The ideas and to-do items that comprise these lists come from a variety of different sources including:
• Conversations with family, friends and business associates
• Something you read (book, magazine, business brief, research paper etc.)
• Items you receive in the mail (a brochure, invitation, pamphlet etc.)
• Emails
• Classes you take
• Conferences you attend
• Voicemail
• Professional groups you belong to
• Meetings you attend
• Your in-basket
• Your desktop
• Your file drawers
• Your closets, cupboards and cabinets
Just taking the time to capture all the open items in your life and write them down can dramatically improve your ability to focus and get things done. You can do this all in one sitting (in which case you will need at least a day) or in short spurts. Please do this and let me know how you feel at the end of the process. My bet is that you will feel far more focused and far less stressed. Please let me know!
Drain Your Brain
Go Through Your Spaces At Work and Home.
Look through your desk drawers, desktop, in-basket, closets, cupboards, shelves and file drawers and make a master to-do list of anything that needs to be done based on what you see. For example: As you look in your file drawer do you: Need to clean out last years financial file and store the receipts, make file folder labels for the most recently added documents, follow up with a potential client, whose business card you found stuck in one of the folders.
Go Through Your Electronic Spaces.
Look through your email in-box, PDA and voicemail messages and add any action items to the existing master to-do list that you are not going to handle immediately and are not recorded elsewhere. For example: An email from a colleague requesting you make a few changes to a report you wrote, a voice message from your brother about possible dates for a family reunion, an email from the professional association of crawfish-catchers announcing their annual crab feed fund raiser.
Go Through Your Brain
Look through your own mind and using the list above write down any relevant to-do items. Once you have done this final emptying out, you can keep this system squeaky clean by adding to your master to-do list anything that pops into your head.
Reinvention Tip:
Some people prefer to keep a master list of all these various and sundry to-do's and transfer them to a daily or weekly to-do list as needed. Others prefer a detailed breakdown of the master list into more defined categories.
Get Hands On Help:
Go to:http://www.amazon.com/Time-Management-Instant-Career-Press/dp/160163014X to get more information.
You can receive notice of my blogs every Friday by checking Become a Fan at the top. Ask Eli a question at info@elidavidson.com or go to www.elidavidson.com today.
Eli Davidson is a nationally recognized executive coach and motivational speaker. Her book, "Funky to Fabulous: Surefire Success Stories for the Savvy, Sassy and Swamped", (Oak Grove Publishing) has won three national book awards. Eli is a reinvention catalyst, who can transform your professional and personal life from Funky to Fabulous with her ten, trademarked Turnaround Techniques that create rapid and remarkable results. Check out her blog at http://funkytofabulous.blogspot.com/
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Im a master list person myself. I use paper and the "notes" app in my iphone.
Robert Siciliano
I am a huge fan of your work and there are days I could marry my iphone!
I believe it is important to have complete free time, preferably at least one 24-hour period of time each week, to be able to just rejuvenate and feed our creative side, i.e., draw, play piano, try a new recipe, go for a walk, lay out in the sun, etc. This was part of the www.strate
(Eli: we met at National Speakers Convention
I am such a fan of what you are up and a huge fan of your work!
I wish everyone in America followed your advice. "Taking one 24-hour period of time each week, to be able to just rejuvenate and feed our creative side, i.e., draw, play piano, try a new recipe, go for a walk, lay out in the sun, etc."
Please share more of you wisdom with all of us!
Use your time to live your life.
View the plants, trees and have a slow relaxed stroll through the forest or along the shore.
Reflect on the work the plants, insects do for us so we can continue our mad rush to no where.
Disconnect the tv and turn on so classical, gentle soft carressing music which will almost put you to sleep for a while.
Organize your life around that which first prioritize
Be with your children, your loved ones, family members who are sick when need be.
Prioritize your family above all else for if the hard times knocks on your door
the firm or boss at the job do not prioritize you in actual reality
even though they may put out a lot of hot air to the effect.
For you are just another screw in their system
and if they reorganize and and no longer have a need
for a few screws
They will not pay your bills.
Live your life, do not just exist for the job or firm or slave masters.
Your life belongs to yourself and is the most valuable gift you will ever receive.
One element of your life is Time and it is your time and do not let others
convince you they deserve it more than you for their own perposes.
My prayer is that everyone not only ready your comment...
My life was quiet different when I unplugged the TV. That tip alone can give anyone a fresh perspectiv
Putting those you love first is the only answer to true happiness.
THANK YOU!
Eli
Lovely of you to respond with such kindness.
Thank you
From Norge
Everyone has a system of living and a set of principles to guide them as they stumble through life, whether they are aware of it or not. As creatures of habit, we take great comfort in having a plan to follow but, as thinking beings, we tend to complicate things more than we ought to.
Planning and prioritizi
That calm zen that we reach when we are in our center is by far the most productive place. If you have more insights, I hope you will share them.
Best,
Eli Davidson
in time...
measuremen
by minutes seconds and hours
our lives
with the sun moon and stars
the seasons
on weeks months and years
a calendar
existence
by past present and future
our being
through growth and change
the path
in beginning and ending
a lifetime
cognizance
of the universe and its movements
a journey
through eternity and immortalit
the secret
counting fleeting moments
our bane
'tis an old poem I wrote but, it fits the tone of the conversati
A sense of order can be defined by the mind but, contentmen
Paul .G. Rose
Great job, and you are reading my mind! I have a post coming up on Sunday, that is all about how we are "obsessed with busy."
I love the practical tips--- how about a few for busy mom's during summer vacation? Kids are so used to being "busy" all day long, the transition to summer can be brutal with constant interrupti
Trying to have a coherent thought is a true challenge! ha ha.
Take care
Kari
I love your hat...and your wisdom!
A valuable post, thank you. These are good reminders and I know they work well.
I have found a really useful and similar system through David Allen's Getting Things Done. I track projects and tasks and each week, review and revise what I am doing. In this way, I stay in touch with what is important to me and move each item along. Some things lose importance and I let them go.
Keeping track makes for much greater peace of mind and space to be creative with my life. These things are simple to do and in my experience
With love,
Anne
Thank you for the terrific tip. I am going to push back and take a walk before lunch.
Best,
Eli
I used to worry about him, to try to help him, and finally I begged him to change. Then I realized he was continuall
His discomfort zone had become his comfort zone. I identified my comfort zone and moved on.