Do Three Important Things Each Day

During these difficult economic times, we need to be focusing more on bringing value in an efficient, focused manner. Whether an employee, an employer, or a small business owner, we need to work harder and smarter, and allocating our time wisely will go a long way towards meeting that goal.

The pareto principle, commonly known as the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. One of the ways we can apply this is to realize that 80% of our results will come from 20% of the tasks that we perform. Given the fact that most of us are severely time-constrained, it makes sense that we would try to tackle the 20% of tasks first.

Of course, that's easier said than done!

The first step in tackling the 20% is to really put your focus on planning ahead. If you know your job well enough, it won't take much thought for you to identify those things that are the most important to accomplish. Let me clarify that we're talking about those things that are the most important, which are not necessarily the things that are most urgent.

Sure, urgent things will need to be completed as well, but it's far too easy to get caught up in "fire fighting" and then lose track of those things that are extremely important but not yet urgent. Unfortunately, those things may eventually become urgent, causing us to lose site of other non-urgent but important tasks. It's a self-perpetuating cycle.

Luckily for us, breaking the cycle is not that difficult if we do a little planning to help us focus on the important 20% and track our results. In fact, here's what you need to do:

1. Schedule 10 minutes of thinking/planning time either at the very end or the very beginning of the day.
2. During your thinking/planning time, identify 3 tasks that are important but not urgent.
3. Keep your list of 3 tasks in front of you all day, and make sure you complete the 3 tasks.
4. During your next thinking/planning session, track your results.

If you find that you cannot complete the 3 tasks consistently and seem to frequently roll them to the next day, don't get discouraged. What you've done is clearly identify the fact that you have a problem. You're caught in a cycle of urgency. You can either put off some "urgent but not important" tasks, or you can put in some extra time specifically for completing your 3 "important but not urgent" tasks. Doing one or both of these will help you break the cycle of urgency and move you closer to bring the greatest value with the least amount of time and effort.

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon Jubar