What happens when you just eat from one of the food groups such as the Doughnut group? What do you mean there isn’t a Doughnut group?
Yeah, yeah, I know. You have heard this before but it also applies to your work life. Many people are primarily working from only one group of tasks: the time-based, reactive, deadline group. Why? They believe they don’t have time for anything else. Sometimes you can get away with working that way, but a lot of times you can’t.
Every day, work (Produce) from each of your Action Categories:
- Calendar – Tasks that can only be done or must be done on a certain date. Do not put tasks that are due in the future in the Calendar. They go into the To Do.
Examples: A call to make on a specific date, info to take on a trip, or an appointment on a specific date.
- Batched – Similar types of tasks that can be done together. Think of an assembly line performing the same action.
Examples: Bills to pay, reports to review, calls to make, e-mails to reply to, articles to read.
- To Do – These are important and impactful tasks that you never seem to have time to do—and many times don’t do. Every day, work on your top 5 most important tasks (To Do A’s) uninterrupted in your Quiet Time (20% of your work day).
Examples: Tasks with a due date you can do before they are due, a step of a Project, developing a form or a template that will save you time in the future.
- Projects – These are tasks which are made up of more than one step, you work on with others, or that take a while to get done. Projects can be accomplished one step at a time and by moving or dragging a step to one of the other Action Categories, generally to the To Do A folder to get done.
Examples: The annual conference you are coordinating in Las Vegas, next year’s budget, a new software rollout.
Hey! Maybe mom was right about that balanced food thing.
© Greg Vetter 2018. All rights reserved
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