Adapting to the rapidly changing structure of work caused many of us to get stuck in crisis management mode. Whether it’s responding to emails or requests, there has been a constant sense of urgency for many leaders. Unfortunately, this consistent pressure to always react quickly within every element of our work life is exhausting.
As a thought leader, what level of importance would you put on making time for strategic thinking during the day? It’s very easy to put our deep thinking time on the back burner because of meetings and busy work. That’s never been more true than today with endless pings, rings, and distractions. However, productivity experts have been assessing this problem for decades.
You’re staring down the barrel of a seemingly endless to-do list. You know it’s time to get started, but where? Do you start with the smallest task or the largest task? The task you like most or the one you like least? The important one for yourself, or the urgent one for someone else? When it comes to prioritizing our to-dos, most of us tend to approach the situation with some degree of subjectivity. But this line of thinking often leaves us totally paralyzed — hovering over our to-do lists for who knows how long, trying to decide where to get started. The key, therefore, is to become as objective as possible when choosing which tasks to prioritize. That’s where the 3 Qs (The Three Questions) come in…
The #1 time management question to ask yourself when approaching any task is, “How long is this going to take?” Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to dramatically under- or overestimate how long tasks take based on how we feel about them. In order to be effective at time estimating, you must take your feelings out of the equation. These two exercises can show you how.
In the journey from chaos to order, people often find it easier to organize space than time, because space is something you can actually see. Stacks of papers, piles of clothing, and shelves full of knick knacks are visible. You can pick things up and move them around in your space to see how they fit. You can easily see when your plate (or your closet) is too full. Time on the other hand, is completely invisible. It’s something you feel and it feels … utterly amorphous. But, not anymore! It's time to make time tangible.
What is perfectionism? Perfectionism is the pressure we often put on ourselves to do things extremely well. When applied to every single everyday task, perfectionism can sap the joy from your life, lead you to work yourself to the bone, and crush your ability to be present as you obsess about whether you did or will do a good enough job in each of your endeavors. Freeing yourself from the logistical burden and psychological paralysis of perfectionism liberates you to manage the wide scope and scale of everything you need to do and helps you stay grounded over the long haul.
Picture this. You are lying in bed, desperate for a good night’s rest; but each time you approach the precipice of sleep, yet another intrusive thought jolts you awake: Don’t forget to refill your prescription before Friday. Remember to email Kathy back first thing in the morning; Make sure to call the bank about that $12 maintenance fee. You toss and turn, trying to remember not to forget these to-dos, all the while losing out on the precious sleep needed to execute these tasks with efficiency. This sleepless night could have been prevented with this one easy habit.
