Page 66 - Time Management

Mancini04.qxd 1/16/2003 4:28 PM Page 51
Procrastination: The Thief of Time
Read recipe
Start
ingredients
No Buy the turkey 1 51
Prepare/stuff Was all Yes Is oven Yes
1 done properly? 2
turkey preheated?
No
Wait
Yes Remove
2 Roast turkey Is turkey done? 3
turkey

No
Wait

3 Carve turkey Serve turkey Eat turkey Stop

Figure 4-3. Flowchart for preparing a turkey

Examine the flowchart in Figure 4-3. Were any steps left
out? If so, where would you insert them?
You might try to apply this method to some of the items you
listed earlier as awaiting action. Above all, remember that flow-
charting often leads to significant savings of time that might
otherwise have been spent later trying to rein in the details of a
hazy or stubbornly complicated project.
4. Your goals are unclear. When you set a goal, be precise.
“Reorganize my office space” may be insufficiently clear. How
would you like your office space to be organized? What specific
needs are dictating your desire to reorganize? Are items you
need daily stored in inaccessible places? Are non-current items
taking up too much room? Do you need a better light source?
Make general goals into specific goals by reminding yourself
what it is, specifically, that makes the goal a goal.
In certain situations—especially in business—goals should be
not only clear but also measurable. Saying, “Our sales will