Tag Archives: getting things done

Delegation: The key to success

Manager to a team member: “Please graph 2nd quarter sales, this year to last year.”

Sibling to sibling: “When you go see Mom, please water the flower boxes.”

Spouse to spouse: “Can you stop and get milk on the way home, please?”

Parent to child: “Before you go out to play, please unload the dishwasher and set the table.”

One of the most tried and true ways to get more done is to delegate effectively.

Note I said “effectively.”  We can’t just delegate willy-nilly, we need to ensure we are delegating fairly, responsibly, AND we need to follow up accordingly.  (For those of us that might have some control tendencies, delegating requires us to take a deep breath and take a leap of faith.)

What does it mean to delegate?

1: to entrust to another

  • delegate authority
  • delegated the task to her assistant

2: to appoint as one’s representative

Do delegate . . .

. . . assignments you aren’t good at and/or don’t like to do.

. . . things that you don’t have time for.

. . . repetitive tasks.

. . . chores that need to get done, but not necessarily by you.  Just because you’ve always done them, doesn’t mean you need to continue to.

. . . responsibilities that will empower others.

Don’t delegate . . .

. . . things you love to do.  Even mundane tasks can be rewarding. Personally, even when I had an awesome, capable team, I still loved to file.

. . . one-time tasks where your expertise can get it done quickly and efficiently.

. . . responsibilities that require your personal attention (don’t delegate a presentation when someone has requested you as the presenter, but do delegate compiling the slides and handouts).

. . . things that require a level of expertise only you possess (no delegating that brain surgery!)

. . . things where only you can ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information.

Some things to delegate:

  • Business reports
  • Meeting organization
  • Tax preparation and filing
  • Laundry and cleaning
  • Grocery shopping
  • Errands
  • Household maintenance and repairs

Delegation doesn’t require a team of employees.  Look around.  See what needs to be done.  Prepare a list.  Ask for assistance.  Empower others to learn and grow. Give yourself more time to do what you do best.

What can you delegate to make room for what’s most important?

 

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and AD

Slow the heck down!

I’m at my mom’s celebrating her 89th birthday.  As usual, when I visit, there’s a list of things she (I) would like to accomplish.

Here’s this trip’s list:

  1. Organize photos.
  2. Install screen to hide the garage work area.
  3. Install pull-out organizers in bathroom cabinets.
  4. Get bedspread dry-cleaned.
  5. Do a little de-cluttering.
  6. Coordinate celebratory dinner.
  7. Relax and have fun (Mom’s list, not mine).

Honestly, #7 was not even on my radar, but it seems to get moved to the top of the list almost every trip.

The following things were not on the list but happened anyway:

  1. Leisurely coffee, muffins, and chit chat every morning.
  2. Dinner at my brother and sister-in-law’s house.
  3. Two ceremoniously long lunches with my mom and sister.
  4. A casual get-together with an amazing high-school buddy.
  5. Lunch with my mom, sister, and nephew.

Although we did get a lot of our tasks completed, there were so much more I wanted to “accomplish.”  But, really, didn’t we accomplish the important stuff?

In a year, what will my mom remember about her birthday week?  I think she will remember that we strengthened the family bonds beyond what even those family photos show.

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

 

 

What’s your ONE THING?

“The truth about success is that our ability to achieve extraordinary results in the future lies in stringing together powerful moments, one after the other.  What you do in any given moment determined what you experience in the next.  Your “present now” and all “future nows” are undeniably determined by the priority you live in the moment.  The deciding factor in determining how you set that priority is who wins the battle between your present and future selves.” (Page 148) (Present Bias)

I just finished reading Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book “The One Thing” and it changed how I view my to-do list.

At any given point in time, I probably have 15 things on my list.  Most will get done, some will be pushed to the following day, week, month, year.  Some turn out to be unimportant and are eliminated. More often than not, however, I check off those items that are easy and procrastinate those that are hard.  Although I may be getting a lot of items checked off my list, am I doing the “one thing” that would make a significant difference?

When you look at your to-do list, ask yourself:

What is the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary? – Gary Keller

Here are some items off my to-do list for this week:

  • Write blog post
  • Update coach log
  • Pay bills
  • Update calendar
  • Reorder prescriptions
  • Follow-up on September/October event speakers
  • Review new website progress; find images; update copy points
  • Write appreciation note to the electrician
  • Follow up with a former client
  • Create ADHD support group documents

Although all of the above are important to me, they are not created equal.  Which are those “that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”  Although it’s not just one, paying bills, re-ordering prescriptions, following up on the September event speaker and reviewing website progress are all items that are critical to my personal and business well being.  All other items can be pushed off to a later date and the world will continue to spin without consequence.

When you look at your current to-do list, what is your one thing?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

 

The Real Costs of Procrastination

Most of us do at least a little of it every day.

Procrastinate.

We tell ourselves “I’ll get to that later” and most of the time we do.  But what happens if we don’t?  What if we procrastinate too long?   What are the costs?

We try to convince ourselves that there’s little-to-no cost of procrastination, but there can be significant costs, some very tangible, others more subtle.

Relationships:  We’d like to think that the people closest to us know we have only the best intentions when it comes to follow-through, but what about the every day costs to our relationships that procrastinating causes? The partner that agreed to pick up the dry cleaning on the way home and procrastinates until the cleaner is closed. The parent who agreed to bake for the school event and procrastinates until it’s too late and disappoints their child by providing store-bought treats instead of the home-made they’d promised their classmates.  The friend that promises to make a dinner reservation for a special event and procrastinates until the restaurant can’t accommodate the request.  Yes, these are all small things, but significant in relationship-building.  Cost of procrastination:  Trust.

Health:  As a breast cancer survivor, I am keenly aware of the cost of putting off health-related appointments.  Regular health screenings and preventative maintenance, like flu and pneumonia shots, are critical to our well-being so they shouldn’t be put off.  Use whatever strategy works to get things done: schedule mammograms with a girlfriend then go to lunch; schedule all the appointments on your birthday as a gift to yourself; schedule a massage or a round of golf after all the appointment are complete.  You get the idea, whatever works to motivate. Cost of procrastination:  Poor health.

Household Chores:  I don’t know anyone that likes to clean the gutters.  Cleaning gutters involves a ladder, dragging it around the house, possibly getting on the roof (I recommend hiring an expert if your gutters need to be cleaned from the roof or if the ladder is too high), and smelly, wet leaves.   And, as gutter-cleaning procrastinators, we generally end up doing it in the rain and at night since  that’s when we notice that the drainpipes are overflowing.  Wouldn’t it have been much easier to have cleaned the gutters on a nice, sunny Saturday before the rain starts?  From personal experience, I can tell you it is.  And it’s not just gutters we need to worry about.  Not cleaning furnace filters will result in reduced productivity and higher energy bills.  Not cleaning the dryer vents may result in a lint fire.  Not checking the water softener will result in spotty glasses. The list goes on and on.  Cost of procrastination:  Stress, money, and safety.

Home/Car Repairs:  It’s a fact of life, things break.  Whether it’s the toaster, the sink, or the car, stuff just happens and we have to deal with it.  The cost of not fixing or replacing a faulty toaster could mean no toast in the morning or getting shocked while trying to retrieve the toast with a kitchen fork (strongly NOT recommended!).  The costs of not fixing a leaky sink could be just a minor annoyance to extensive damage to flooring, cabinetry or walls.  The cost of not addressing squeaky brakes could be devastating to the safety of ourselves and our loved ones.  Cost of procrastination:  Money, major home/car repairs,  and safety.

Organization (my personal favorite):  According to a study conducted by a Boston marketing firm, the average American burns 55 minutes per day – roughly 13 days a year – looking for things they know they own but can’t find.  Disorganization manifests itself in many ways:  wasted time because we can’t find things; finance charges because we didn’t pay our bills on time; late fees for not returning a library book or DVD; money wasted replacing things we already own because we couldn’t find them when we needed them; and trust because we didn’t finish a project on time due to dysfunctional time management.   Being organized means we can find things when we need them, we can do the things we need to do when they need to be done, and we can get the places we need to get on time.   Cost of procrastination:  Time, money, and trust.

Wills:  Not that any of us want to think about it, but at some point, our earthly possessions will need to be passed on to someone else.  It’s true, as cool as our stuff is, we can’t take it with us.  Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we had some say in where our cool stuff went?  Well, that’s what wills  are for.  A number of surveys recently showed between 55% – 64% of of  Americans had not written their wills.  That number doesn’t surprise me at all.  It should, but it doesn’t.  None of us want to think about death and dying, but it is irresponsible to our loved ones not to take care of this important process.  Cost of procrastination: Money, Relationships.

Financial Planning:  Detailed and thorough financial planning is critical to our long-term well- being.    When we are in our twenties and thirties, we can’t see past a new pair of jeans, let alone think about planning for our retirement.  Those days just seem too far away, but it’s never too early to start planning for our retirement. What’s the benefit of starting early?   Using the compound interest calculator, I wanted to see how much a relatively small investment could grow over time.  I started with $1,000 and estimated that I’d put in an additional $50 per month (about 10 lattes with a generous tip) and calculated the growth over 10 years at a 5% interest rate.  What would I have at the end of that time period?  $9,175.63.  Change it to 20 years and the number becomes a staggering $22,492.87.  Amazing what a little planning and discipline could do for our long-term financial well being.  Cost of procrastination: Limited Retirement Savings, Reduced Retirement Enjoyment.

Taxes:  According to a CBS News post, the cost of waiting until the last minute to file income taxes costs on average an additional  $400.  It’s not that we can just choose to not pay our taxes by April 15 (give or take).  (Well, some folks may, but I’m guessing the cost of that decision is much greater than $400.)   We are just delaying the inevitable.   If we thought we were getting money back on our taxes, we’d be Johnny-On-The-Spot when it came to filing our taxes, right?  Not necessarily. Procrastinators are procrastinators, and whether we think we are getting money back or having to give Uncle Sam money, we generally wait until the last minute to do it anyway.  In addition, the extra $400, the stress of not knowing takes a tremendous toll.   Cost of procrastination:  Money, stress.

Business Costs:  A 2012 CNBC post identified the cost of procrastination in business as being a staggering $10,396 . . . . per employee . . . per year.  Wow!  The article referred to procrastination as “the most invisible cost in business today.”  I don’t doubt it.  When I worked in “Corporate America,” I surely procrastinated a bit on projects that I knew needed to get done, but I just didn’t feel motivated to do.  Why did I procrastinate?  Generally, I felt I didn’t know enough about the project to get started, didn’t feel I had the appropriate resources to get the project completed, or just found other stuff that was more fun to do.  Cost of procrastination:  Money, Credibility, Possible Promotion

Insurance:  After procrastinating on the project for a couple years, we went through a comprehensive analysis of our home insurance needs.  After extensive research, we found an amazing insurance package that was far less in cost with far more coverage.  Had I gone through the process a few years earlier, we would have been able to save several thousand dollars AND had more extensive coverage.  It sickens me to think of what I might have been able to do with that money. The same goes for renewing any kind of insurance:  auto, home, personal liability, health, etc.  I worked with a client several years ago that hadn’t done a detailed review of their business auto insurance in several years.  After an analysis of their coverage, it was determined that two of their vehicles hadn’t been included in the policy.  Can you imagine the cost had there been an accident with one of those vehicles?   Frightening.   Cost of procrastination:  Money, Peace of Mind, Liability

Fortunately, procrastination can be managed.  It requires scheduling, initiative, and a drive to do better, but it can be done.

The best way to stop procrastinating?  Just get started.  Starting small will provide the momentum to finish.  Unfinished tasks are uncomfortable for us.  Once we get started, we have the drive to finish.

 

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

Are you working with boulders or pebbles?

Things can be so dog-gone overwhelming sometimes, can’t they?

I worked with a couple clients last week that were paralyzed by their “to do” lists.  The lists were so long and the projects were so daunting that the default action was inaction.

They were trying to work with boulders when it would have been much easier to work with pebbles.

What does working with boulders vs pebbles mean?  I’ll use one of my projects as an example.

I realized that my current business name doesn’t speak to a large segment of my business: coaching.  If you were looking for a coach would you think it made sense to contact “Organize to Simplify?”  I know I wouldn’t, so I’m changing my business name which triggers a plethora of tasks.  Some of these are Boulder tasks, some are pebble tasks.

Change business name and identity:  Boulder task

  • Secure new domain: Pebble task
  • Create new logo: Boulder task
  • Create a new website: Boulder task
  • Outreach to clients and support base: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task (done)

Create new logo: Boulder task

  • Hire designer: Pebble task (done)
  • Engage with friends, family, and colleagues for their input on initial designs: Pebble task (done)
  • Submit preference to the designer: Pebble ask
  • Review 2nd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task
  • Review 3rd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task

Create a new website: Boulder task

  • Decide on new website platform: Boulder task (done)
    • Review website options and costs: Pebble task (done)
    • Review website templates: Pebble task (done)
  • Determine if the website will be self-created or hire sub-contractor: Boulder task
    • Determine if I can do it myself: Pebble task
    • Determine if I can justify sub-contractor cost: Pebble task
    • Determine timeline availability of sub-contractor matches desired deliverable: Pebble task
  • Create website sitemap: Pebble task
  • Rewrite website pages: Pebble task
  • Choose images for the website: Pebble task

Market new company: Boulder task

  • Create marketing plan: Boulder task
    • Determine marketing target: Pebble task
    • Determine marketing vehicles: Pebble task
  • Order new business cards and note cards: Pebble task
  • Write a letter of introduction to clients and support base:  Pebble task
  • Solicit LinkedIn endorsements: Pebble task
  • Solicit Google My Business endorsements: Pebble task

I fid this to be a pretty daunting, and I’m certain incomplete, list.

The task of “Change business name and identity” is a boulder task.  I would never have been able to pick that boulder up all at one time. The boulder task was too big.  I needed to create many pebbles out of that boulder in order to be successful.

What boulder tasks are you avoiding because they are too daunting?

What could you get done if you broke that boulder into pebbles?

 

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

 

 

Step five. Step three. Step one. Nope.

I watched a sitcom the other day where one of the characters introduced the family to her new dog.  The look of confusion on their faces indicated having a dog made absolutely no sense.  But then she explained:

Step 5: She had a dog because .  . . .

Step 4: . . .  she was going to have a fenced yard.

Step 3: . . .  in the house that she was going to buy with her $50K paycheck.

Step 2: . . .  for being a surrogate.

Step 1: . . .  after passing her medical exam.

Some of you may have also watched this show and know exactly where this is headed.  This particular character had lept all the way to step five without ever passing through steps one through four.  Unfortunately, her plans fell apart at step one because she didn’t pass the medical exam.

How many times have we jumped all the way to the end of the process without working through the important steps along the way?  I know I have.  As a matter of fact,  I almost did it again just last week.

I heard that Google My Business is a great marketing venue.  I got very excited and started the process to create my Google My Business page.  But wait, I’m in the process of rebranding my business (new direction, new name, new client base, etc.).  How could I create Google My Business exposure without my new business name defined, my new website up and running, my rebranded logo, etc.   See what I almost did there?  I was too many steps down the path without having completed step number one . . . creating my new business identity.

Leaping over process happens with both my organizing and coaching clients on a regular basis.

My organizing clients rush out and purchase pretty bins and boxes before they know what they are keeping (purging is step one, containerizing is way down the line).

One of my coaching clients came to me with a big goal: quit my job and move to a foreign country.  Great, let’s move in that direction but don’t purchase an airline ticket before all the other pieces are in place.

What big goal are you working on that require multiple, necessary steps along the way?  How do you keep yourself from stepping over the important parts of the process?  Leaping to step five before completing steps one through four can be counter-productive, frustrating and a challenging use of resources.

If you need some help breaking those big projects down into manageable pieces, ask a respected colleague, friend, family member or any other support structure for some assistance.

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

 

Important vs Urgent

I feel fortunate and blessed to have created a work-style and life-style that supports a flexible schedule, but the past couple of months have been a whirlwind of guests and travel that has my head spinning . . . and my “to do” list expanding by the day.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been feeling pretty darn guilty about all the stuff I’m not getting done.  Some of it is personal, but much of it involves things I really, really want to accomplish to support my business and clients.  After beating myself up a bit, I revisited the Urgent vs Important grid (thank you Stephen Covey!) to help me through the “what to do now” decision process.

Important & Urgent: Things that really, really need to be dealt with right now (house on fire, etc.).

Important & Not Urgent: Things that need to be done, but don’t need to be done right now (long-term planning, etc.).

Urgent & Not Important:  Things that probably never need to be dealt with, but take up our precious time (telemarketer calls, etc.)

Not Urgent & Not Important:  Not only do these things not have to be done right now, chances are they don’t need to be done at all (watching videos of dancing cats on Youtube, etc.)

With the limited amount of time I’ve had in my home and office the past couple of weeks, here’s how I broke down a few of the outstanding items on my “to do” list:

  1. Pay bills:  Important & Urgent
  2. Complete coaching homework required for certification: Important & Urgent
  3. Listen to teleclass before it expires: Important & Urgent
  4. Ironing:  Important & Not Urgent
  5. Office Filing: Important & Not Urgent
  6. Unsubscribe from unwanted e-mails: Important & Not Urgent

I generally don’t put Not Important stuff on my “to do” list, so two of the categories were easy to eliminate.

Granted, there were a lot of other things on my list, but these represented hours worth of things I wanted (not needed) to do.  The result:  #1-#3 got done; #4-#6 will be saved for another day.

Suffice to say, with my list prioritized, I’m feeling much better about getting the important stuff done, leaving the other “not urgent” things to be tackled at another time and focusing on being thankful that I have the ability to spend time and energy traveling and enjoying our guests.

How do you prioritize your “to do” list?

 

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.

Time Management: What. When. How.

February is National Time Management Month
“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.”     — Thomas Edison

Time.  We all have the same amount of it, right?  How is it that some people are just better using it than others?  Well, David Allan, the guru (at least in my book) of time management  has a great strategy for getting things done.

Here’s a snippet of his philosophy:

  1. Capture:  Use an in-box, a to-do list, a white board, an electronic task manager, or any other capture device that works for you.
  2. Clarify: Be very clear about what the next step is.  Ignore it?  File it?  Delegate it? Work on it later?  Work on it now?
  3. Organize:  Where does it go (filing cabinet, car, assistant’s desk)?  When does it need to get done (organize by priority)?  Where can I do it (office, car, doctor’s office)?  Organize all phone calls in one place.  Make a list, geographically if possible, of all the errands that need to be run.
  4. Reflect:  Frequently review your lists.  Lists may need to be reviewed daily, weekly, monthly or yearly depending on priority.  If something has been on a list for a while, can it be deleted?
  5. Engage: Simply start the process.  Sometimes starting is the hardest part.

If you are looking for some great resource materials on time management, I can heartily suggest the following books as a start:

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Getting Things Done:  The art of stress free productivity

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Eat that Frog!

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

Coaching Certifications (Coach Approach for Organizers):
Coaching Essentials; Strengths-Based Coaching; Brain-Based Coaching; Life and ADHD Coaching; Organizer Coach Integration; Body-Based Coaching; ADHD Coaching Competencies

Proud member of:

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National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), Seattle Area Chapter President

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Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD)

Level I Foundation Certification in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding

Level II Specialist Certification in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

 

 

Urgent vs Important

UrgentImportantMatrixThis morning as I was getting ready to head out on vacation I  realized, yet again, that my “to do” list was longer than the hours I had left to do get everything done.  What’s a girl to do?

Many times in both my career and personal life I’ve fallen back on the Urgent vs Important grid (thank you Stephen Covey!) to help me through the “what to do now” decision process.

Important & Urgent: Things that really, really need to be dealt with right now (house on fire, etc.)

Important & Not Urgent: Things that need to be done, but don’t need to be done right now (long-term planning, etc.)

Urgent & Not Important:  Things that probably never need to be dealt with, but take up our precious time (telemarketers, etc.)

Not Urgent & Not Important:  Not only do these things not have to be done right now, chances are they don’t need to be done at all (watching videos of dancing cats on Youtube, etc.)

Here’s some of what was left on my “to do” list as of this morning and how they ended up getting categorized:

  1. Prepare house/pet information for sitter:  Important & Urgent
  2. Homework assignments for Coaching Class: Important & Urgent
  3. Listen to tele-class before it expires: Important & Urgent
  4. Ironing:  Important & Not Urgent
  5. Office Filing: Important & Not Urgent
  6. Yard work: Important & Not Urgent

I generally don’t put Not Important stuff on my “to do” list, so two of the categories were easy to eliminate.

Granted, there were a lot of other things on my list, but these represented hours worth of things I needed to do, in addition to my regular job.  The result:  #1-#3 got done; #4-#6 will be saved for another day.

Suffice to say, with my list prioritized, I’m feeling much better about my preparation for the trip and possibly may have just a couple minutes to watch dancing cat videos!

How do you prioritize your “to do” list?