Page 55 - Twenty Four Lessons for Mastering Your New Role

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best work you possibly can. Adopting this attitude keeps you on track
and enables you to manage your time more productively.
Realize that making a to-do list isn’t a solution. It’s merely a tool.
The endless drafting and redrafting of lists can actually become an
impediment that prevents you from taking action. If you’re going to
list your daily or weekly priorities, keep it simple, and assign a rea-
sonable deadline for each item.
Don’t confuse hectic activity with productivity. Immersing your-
self in “busy work” might seem satisfying, but you may lose your per-
spective. Determine what’s truly important and shift your attention
where it’s needed most.
To squeeze the most out of every workday:
Eliminate time-wasters: Identify time killers such as aimless
Internet surfing or long, chatty phone calls that divert you from
more pressing duties. While it’s fine to take short breaks, make sure
you earn those breaks.

Set realistic standards: Poor time managers tend to be perfection-
ists. They may dread doing something imperfectly so they refuse to
finish it. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Stage “15-minute bursts”: Set a timer for 15 minutes and plunge
into a specific task. Even if you don’t finish, you’ll make headway and
generate momentum.

“If you ask [people] what percentage of time they are
spending on things that are urgent but not important,
most would say ‘Half the time.’”
—Stephen Covey

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