These are 20 rules of time management I picked up from Edwin Bliss’s excellent 1970’s Time Management classic called Getting Things Done.
- When filing, remember that a few fat files work better than a lot of thin ones.
- When you stuff up, don’t say “If only“; say “Next time.“
- Finish what you start. Don’t accumulate a long list of unfinished projects.
- Read selectively. You can waste a lot of time reading.
- Protect prime time. There are times when you think better than other times — use that time well.
- Start the day off with your most unpleasant task on your to-do list. That way, you’ll feel wonderful for the rest of the day, knowing you’ve got your most dreaded chore out of the way.
- Schedule large chunks of time for the important things and control interruptions.
- Reduce your commute time –or your wasted commute time.
- Create positive tension e.g. set yourself deadlines, go public with your goals, invite others to evaluate your work, enter friendly competitions with others, etc.
- Break all tasks down to bite-sized pieces ( Bliss call this the salami technique).
- Plan before starting anything. Think: “Is there a better way to do this?”
- Conduct post-mortems after projects. Ask yourself “How would I done this better. What will I do next time?”
- Identify mental blocks and use the salami technique to break the obstacle down into tiny pieces.
- Remember to pat yourself on the back whenever you do something well.
- Give very specific instructions. People can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell them precisely what you want.
- Learn to touch-type and use voice-recognition software.
- Replace neurotic perfectionism with the more practical concept of “good enough”.
- Learn to “focus like a laser”.
- Say “no” more often; make fewer promises.
- Use the Pareto principle (80/20 rule) to identify your most likely high-yield activities and allocate lots of time to those activities.
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