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NCRWA.COM |
Winter 2014
from the executive director
key takeaways from Collins’ seminar that have improved my ability to find
more of the “chunks” of time recommended by Drucker.
• Keep two lists. “You are 37% more likely to get things done if they
are written on a list,” Collins explained. One of these is a Master List
that includes everything you have to get done. By making this Master
List, you simply do not have to expend brainpower or time trying to
remember what you have to get done. The second is a working To-Do
List with a goal of no more than 6 to 8 items on it at a time. If it is not
on this working To-Do List, you simply should not be expending your
precious time doing it.
• Set priorities for your time and tasks. Collins explained that this is where
you have to decide “what you really have to do.” He recommended
asking the following questions and assigning the respective category
to each item on your Master List:
1. Can I delay this? – Delay It
2. Can I delegate this? – Delegate It
3. What is the worst thing that will happen if I don’t do this? If you do
not expect a severely negative repercussion – Don’t Do It
4. If none of these three work – Do It
5. If you must do it, but it is too big to accomplish at one time – Diminish It.
So how do you narrow it down from multiple pages of your Master List to
a working To-Do List that you can use to navigate your busy day? Just as
Collins explained, once you have categorized every item on the list, only
your “Do It” items are moved to your To-Do List. Amazingly for me, this is
normally less than 10 items just as he stated that it would be.
To conclude, it is obvious that none of us can stop doing all of the other
things that consume our time such as answering emails, making phone calls,
and participating in meetings. However, we must carve out several hours per
day to focus solely on our top priorities. I have personally found it helps to
turn phones on silent, cut off email notifications, isolate myself and set my
timer on the phone for one hour segments and then focus solely on a single
To-Do List item. It does not work every day, but it works some days, and on
those days, real results are generally produced.
As always, please let us know anytime that Rural Water can be of assistance
to you, and I look forward to seeing everyone in May!
Sincerely,
Daniel Wilson, PE, CAE, UMC
Executive Director, NCRWA
MORE INFORMATION ON THE REFERENCED MATERIALMAY BE FOUND AT:
