Tag Prioritization

Making the Most of Your Time

Steve Keating 2 Comments

We should probably get this out of the way up front. We can’t actually manage time. We can manage the events that use up our time. You should also know that no one on the planet has more time than you. We all get 1440 minutes a day. No more, no less.

People who think they are short on time are actually short on priorities. They treat most every “event” in their lives as a top priority not realizing that if everything is the top priority then nothing is. Managing the events that use up your time effectively is crucial for achieving your goals, reducing stress, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Here are some practical strategies to help you manage those events more effectively.

  • Set Clear Goals: Start by defining your short-term and long-term goals. Having a clear sense of what you want to achieve will help you prioritize tasks and allocate time accordingly.
  • Prioritize Tasks: Use techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix (urgent vs. important) to identify and prioritize tasks based on their significance and deadlines.
  • Create a prioritized task list: Make a daily or weekly prioritized task list to outline tasks you need to accomplish. Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps.
  • Time Blocking: Allocate specific time blocks for different tasks or activities. This helps you focus on one task at a time and prevents multitasking, which can reduce efficiency.
  • Use a Calendar: Utilize a digital or physical calendar to schedule appointments, meetings, and tasks. Sync it with your devices to stay updated and receive reminders.
  • Set Deadlines: Establish realistic deadlines for tasks to create a sense of urgency and maintain accountability.
  • Eliminate Distractions: Identify and minimize sources of distraction, such as turning off notifications, setting specific times for checking emails and social media, and creating a clutter-free workspace.
  • Batch Similar Tasks: Group similar tasks together and work on them during specific time blocks. This minimizes context switching and improves efficiency.
  • Use the Pomodoro Technique: Work intensely for a set period (e.g., 25 minutes) and then take a short break. Repeat this cycle to maintain focus and prevent burnout.
  • Delegate: If possible, delegate tasks that can be handled by others, freeing up your time for more critical responsibilities.
  • Learn to Say No: Politely decline tasks or commitments that don’t align with your goals or would overburden your schedule.
  • Set Time Limits: Allocate a specific amount of time for each task to avoid spending too much time on less important activities.
  • Review and Reflect: Regularly review your progress, assess what’s working and what isn’t, and adjust your time management strategies accordingly.
  • Use Technology Wisely: Utilize productivity apps, task managers, and tools like calendar reminders to help you stay organized and on track.

Effective time management isn’t as much about time as it is understanding your priorities. It is a skill that takes time to develop. Experiment with different strategies to find what works best for you, and be willing to adapt as your circumstances and goals evolve.

Remember, time is one of your most valuable assets. The more effectively you use it the more of it you’ll seem to have. You will seldom see a very successful person who doesn’t allocate their time well and if you do it’s likely they won’t be very successful for long.

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The Power of Focus

Steve Keating 3 Comments

Somebody a lot smarter than me once said “the man who chases two rabbits catches neither.” I don’t recall who said it but it’s absolutely true.

But there is a way that guy can catch both rabbits. He just has to chase them one at a time.

That’s focus.

If you can’t say no to many things then you’ll find it impossible to say yes to focus. In most areas of your life what you choose not to do will determine what you are able to do. If you’re trying to do too much you fall victim to what is known as task saturation. If you fall into that trap you end up accomplishing far less than the person focused on one thing at a time.

That’s the big illusion that multi-taskers present to themselves. They believe they can do many things well and that they can do them all at once. But every bit of research shows without a doubt that they are fooling themselves.

One person doing eight things one at a time will do them better and faster than one person trying to do all eight of them at once. That’s the power of focus.

Some people would tell you they can’t focus. That’s not exactly right. What they can’t do is decide. They can’t decide on their priorities. They are like a kid in a candy store…they want it all and they want it right now.

That “kid in the candy store” mentality causes them to accomplish things right at the deadline. They get them done in the nick of time because suddenly they didn’t have to decide what to do next, a deadline made the decision for them. The problem is, things done at the deadline are seldom done as well as those things done with time to spare.

The most successful people possess laser like focus. They invest a bit of time, well actually some serious time, in determining their priorities and then they go after them to the exclusion of all distractions.

Warren Buffett has laser focus and he has a dependable process to keep it that he shares with people who struggle with their own focus.

He’ll ask them to invest some time to write out their top 25 goals. These can be life goals, 10 year goals or goals for the coming month or year. Once they have that list he asks them to review it and select their top 5.

So now they have two lists, let’s call them list one and list two. Buffett asks what the person intends to do with list two. Most say that they will work on them as time permits because while they are not as important as list one they are still important.

That’s when Buffett gives them life altering advice. He tells them list two is actually their “avoid at all cost” list. He says that list should get zero attention until list one is 100% complete. That’s what focus looks like in practice.

I can tell you from personal experience that focusing is easy when compared to developing the lists. If you want success with your own list one you must be willing to sacrifice everything on list two.

Most people are able to do that but are unwilling to do that. Those 20 things on list two prevent them from achieving any of the things on list one. In their case, ALL the rabbits got away.

Some would say if you’re focusing on more than one thing you don’t really have focus. I’ll give people the benefit of the doubt and say so long as you’re focusing on one at a time you can maybe have five or six things on your radar.

Any more than that and you might as well be Elmer J. Fudd.