Is Zen a word that you occasionally use? If you stress the word occasionally, I would answer yes to this question. Especially if we were discussing a topic like getting things done. Know the zen of getting things done.
Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.
-Peter Drucker
Zen teaches that the potential to achieve enlightenment is inherent in everyone but lies dormant because of ignorance. It is best awakened not by the study of scripture or the practice of good deeds, but by breaking through the boundaries of mundane logical thought. To be successful in the battle of getting things done you certainly break through these boundaries.
Nothing else can be managed if time is not managed. Pretty tough quote by Peter Drucker, but if you think about it carefully, you will agree. Getting things done doesn’t come easy and it starts and ends with productive use of time.
Getting things done is all about the ability to plan and control how you spend the hours in your day to effectively accomplish your goals. Poor time management is related to procrastination, as well as problems with self-control.
Skills involved in managing your time include planning ahead, setting and prioritizing goals, and paying attention to what you have accomplished.
Before going further in telling you how to be more productive in getting things done, let me tell a story to set the stage. The story is really an effective analogy and here it is:
This story is about a big game prize. Your prize winnings are in the form of a daily deposit by your bank into your account. Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use.
However, this prize has rules :
Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
You may only spend it.
Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day.
The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say,” Game Over!” It can close the account and you will not receive a new one. So what would be your plan of action?
You would buy anything and everything you wanted right?
Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people, you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?
You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?
ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL …..
Each of us is already a winner of this “prize”.
Only instead of money, this prize is TIME.
Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life.
And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.
What we haven’t used up that day is forever lost.
Yesterday is forever gone.
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING …
SO, what is your plan of action for this precious commodity each day? What is your plan of action for getting things done with your time?
Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about that and enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.
Start spending ….. but spend wisely.
It often feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things we want to accomplish, let alone find a moment to relax. The demands of work and social life, combined with our basic needs for sleep, food, and exercise, can quickly add up and overflow, producing the sense that time is constantly slipping away.
Time may be limited, but it doesn’t have to always feel that way. New research suggests that our state of mind can change the way we perceive and experience time, and in turn, make us happier and more successful in getting things done.
Have you read Stephen Covey’s book “7 Habits of Highly Successful People”? The figure below is Covey’s now quite famous “time management matrix” from this book. If you have read the book, it will be familiar to you.
Covey’s Time Management Matrix
His focus on the time-management matrix is part of Habit #3 — Put first things first. Here he argues that we need to spend our time and effort with the type of tasks listed in the second quadrant (Important and Not Urgent), as these are truly important to us and are not done, ineffectively, at the last minute.
Most importantly, this habit, as with many “step-like” programs, will only be successful if you first achieve the earlier habits. In this case, both Habit #1 — Be Proactive, and Habit #2 — Begin with the end in mind, must be established.
Habit 1 and Habit 2 build a base of necessity and purpose, respectively. First, by acknowledging our responsibility in life to make and own our choices, Habit #1 establishes us as a responsible, active people world.
With this established, Habit #2 provides the focus for this type of action. With Habit 2, we answer the question, “What is my purpose?” We establish our mission and the vision for our actions.
So in addition to Covey’s time management matrix, follow these additional tips to help you in getting things done:
Organize your plan
In order to have your priorities lined up for each day, make a list of things that you have to do the night before and evaluate the importance of those projects. By committing your priorities to paper, you psychologically enter into a contract with yourself because it creates a greater responsibility in your mind to get these things done.
Start the day early
Coming up short on time toward the end of the day? Get started 30 minutes early. It will give you some breathing room with the day and start the day with important alone time.
There’s nothing better than starting the day fully organized and ready to go. It could also give you some time to re-think today’s priorities.
Know your priorities
Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities, and conversations that produce most of your results … quadrant 2 tasks.
Keep the focus on quadrant 2 tasks
Oftentimes, we don’t do the essential things that need to be done because we get sidetracked — in many cases by tasks we’d rather be doing. In order to avoid this trap, it’s important to keep the focus on the plan of attack on quadrant 2.
If you notice more than an occasional task in quadrant 1, it is important to put a better effort into planning.
Work to the plan
When you can visualize how you plan your day to go, you can cut back the downtime. Got enough work done? Put some time in the gym or talk to your family. If you can schedule and plan accordingly, you’ll never run out of time.
Schedule time for interruptions
Plan time to be pulled away from what you’re doing. It will happen, as it happens to us all. Accommodate these interruptions in your plan.
Be realistic
When you’ve created a plan and a schedule, it’s important to be realistic about what you can actually accomplish in a workday and prioritize accordingly.
Stay organized
Keeping up with an organizer that holds every appointment you have will cut down on any wasted time. Most people think they can get away with just creating mental notes, but that’s not good planning.
Keeping your life in order with something concrete will aid in cutting down stress. Tidying your desk and workspace can also keep your work consistent. Plan time to be pulled away from what you’re doing.
Avoid Distractions
Easily the hardest thing to do all day at work is to be able to focus at all times. We all struggle with distraction, but being able to get back on the horse and stay focused is a great talent.
Learn to say no
Remember this: everyone in the getting things done business will tell you the same thing — “learn to say no.” It is very difficult to say no until you have established your own sense of priority and purpose.
The bottom line
To ask a good question requires two things: insight and gumption. The root of all worthy questions is a desire to fill in a gap in your understanding of something.
The insight in good questions comes from seeing that gap, exploring its edges, and forming a question from them that can serve as an invitation to others to fill it. But a question can’t ask itself.
You need gumption or the courage to ask the question to someone. Many people have good questions, but never find the courage to speak up and share them.
