Getting Things Done
When I read a book named ‘Getting Work Done’ of 20-minute manager series by Harvard Business Review, the first impression was above the amazed. It was an extraordinary book that introduces simple methods.
I was preparing for the midterm exams by that time, but I could not take my eyes off the book pages. The more I was reading, the more the book was attracting me to inside. No words can describe a feeling I had that day. It was a kind of magic potion as a form of words on paper. While reading, I wrote down important advice and ideas in my very beloved notebook. These bullets I made are still valuable; I read and apply when it is needed.
The book is for helping knowledge workers such as students, scholars, managers, and executives. It mainly presents readers with the importance of prioritizing work, being more efficient, and taking control of time. The fundamental ideas of the book are about maximizing effectiveness and managing time properly.
The first step is to be aware of the current situation in which you are. Tracking and dividing time into several groups, namely core responsibilities, personal growth, managing people, crises and fires, and administrative tasks, is the best idea to start. Hence, we can see our status of a day and do things to change. The point where we can start saving time is defined here. The goal-setting for life and time management takes into account before and after the step, respectively.
When the goal and task are clear, we should focus on plans and preparations. These allow us to achieve our core mission and vision. With vision, it is easier not to lose the track we run through. Our plan should be well organized but flexible so that we can change later in need. We should be extremely creative during the preparation because a combination of creativeness and effectiveness results in productivity.
Prioritizing assignments has a significant effect on a result. We can group tasks into four main categories according to their importance and urgency by the Eisenhower matrix.
The first group that a collection of important and urgent tasks is a critical list. We must have done those tasks before going to the next sector of the matrix. The second group is that important but not urgent tasks. These tasks are highly influential since they often guide us toward considerable achievements. We can plan it in our system, which we will do it later in the long term. The third sector consists of not important but urgent tasks. We can delegate them to others who can do better than yourself. The personal coaches advise their busy clients to assign work to someone else who has 80% of the ability to perform like them. The last quarter is a bucket of neither important nor urgent things. So, we can easily remove them from our list.
One effective method to use after prioritizing is checklist items. Crossing, drawing arrows (to left and right) could indicate whether we have done, canceled, or shifted an item. I revised them at least three times a day; in the morning, on lunch, and in the evening. The ONE Thing book suggests that editing them should take more than four hours a day. Hence, we can adapt it into our life as a habit. Habits do not consume both time and energy; therefore, it is appropriate to keep planning as a key-habit.
There are several things which we seriously need to take care of it.
- The key to goal setting is narrowing from the big perspective to small actions. Once Thomas Carlyle said, “A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.”, it means we have to start with the end in mind. Our life-, 5 years-, 1 year-, monthly, weekly views should come before the daily plan.
- We have to give ourselves limits and boost our quality of time. The things that are not our priorities should have upper limits. The idea of minimalism could help us to reduce them. The essential things like exercising, reading, and meditating should have lower limits. As a result, we can spend our day with effectiveness. The common mistake we often make is neglecting our health physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. However, health is the source of energy and productivity.
- It would be easier if our actions followed state of art. Several platforms could ease the tasks in our life. We can boost the quality of time with remarkable services in no time. You can get more information from the book: “Less Doing, More Living” which offers ways to simple living.
Overall, we are the product of society. Our life has not to be limited by work and hectic schedules. However, life today seems to be stress filled due to the current condition. One of our prime mission is to take control of time and enjoy the break. With simple techniques, we are allowed to make a change in ordinary life. Then we are free to do things we really love.
In conclusion, I highly recommend you, the readers to apply appropriate methods to your life and to check out those books earlier mentioned. Take care of yourself, and reach out for help if needed.
