by Maria GraciaStart off each day in an organized way, and you’ll get more done than you can imagine. Here are 5 simple steps.
- MAKE A TO DO LIST. Make a list of the things you have to do tomorrow, the evening before. Prioritize and organize each item in the sequence that it should be accomplished. Consolidate similar tasks together. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a clear-cut guide detailing everything that must be done.
- BE CAREFUL OF GETTING DIVERTED. Very often, a schedule gets thrown off track due to distraction. If you find that you constantly get off track, get a watch with a timer and set it so it goes off every 30 minutes. Every time it sounds, be sure you’re working on what you originally said you would. If you’re not, stop what you’re doing and get back on schedule. Most distractions are not emergency situations.
- CALL BEFORE YOU LEAVE. If you have an appointment during the day, always call to confirm before you leave your home or office. This will ensure that the person you’re meeting did not forget about the appointment. Also, if there is going to be a long waiting time, perhaps you can do something else first, before you leave.
- CHECK OFF ITEMS AS YOU COMPLETE THEM. Every time you finish something, cross it off your To Do List. This will give you a sense of accomplishment throughout the day.
- DO A FINAL CHECK. At the end of the day, take a look at your list. How many items were you able to accomplish? Are there only 1-2 things left undone, or many? If there were just a few undone, simply move them to tomorrow’s To Do List. If there were many undone, and you worked diligently on everything all day, then you probably had too many things on your list to begin with. Re-think how much you can possibly do in a given day. Remember, you only have 24 hours, and you should be using a third of those hours to sleep!
by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!â„¢
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the reward.
I use to-do lists almost every day, both for work and my household chores. There’s just something very satisfying in being able to check an item off my list. Plus it makes sure I don’t forget anything. I get a lot more done every single day that I use a check list.
I like to make them out the night before so I’m ready to get going first thing in the morning.
Susanne
Comment by Susanne (Christmas Crafts and Ideas) — December 2, 2007 @ 4:33 am
I totally agree with you, many times I do the task just for the fun of checking it off - I’ve even added something I’ve done to the list just to check it off - how weird is that :0)
I find it very effective to make any lists the night or day before as well, it seems to take twice as long (or longer) in the morning.
You may be interested to know that I have revamped this blog at http://www.queenofkaos.com/home/
It has a lot of info on time management/organization etc.
Have a great day!
Jan
Comment by Jan - queenofkaos — January 7, 2008 @ 12:58 pm