How You Can Make the Most of Your Day
* Use the “Swiss cheese approachâ€: Poking holes in daunting jobs reduces them to manageable size. This is also known as the “salami techniqueâ€--slicing a huge task into mini-jobs, which can then be crossed off one at a time.
* Prioritize: Don’t just work down your list in order, says Loren Hulber of Day-Timers. Put A, B or C next to each item. A means “must doâ€; B, “should do,†and C, “could do.†Go over this list every morning, he suggests: “The half-hour you spend planning each morning will add an hour and a half of productivity to your day.â€
* Practice the deceptively simple art of saying “noâ€: Start small, say, promising yourself to say “no†once a week, building up until the practice becomes habitual rather than painful.
* Look at the big picture and chart your progress: A simple visual exercise Angelo Valenti uses is a timeline: On a big sheet of paper, list all the months for the year across the top; on the vertical axis, projects for that year. Use self-adhesive notes for each step toward the goal, removing or repositioning them as needed.
* Learn the art of letting go: “When a list becomes too overwhelming, it’s time to take a good look at what you can realistically expect to accomplish,†say Ronni Eisenberg and Kate Kelly in their book, “Organize Your Home†(Hyperion, 1986). Drop a couple low-priority items completely, delegate others; consider hiring someone or arranging with a friend to swap unpleasant tasks that have taken up list space for too long.
* Go high-tech: New toys for the well-to-do time-management-impaired include computerized systems that break a day’s schedule into 15- or 30-minute blocks; an alarm goes off when it’s time to drop what you are doing and prepare for what’s next on the agenda.
