Yesterday started with the best intentions. I entered my office in the morning with a vague impression of what I wanted to accomplish. Then I sat down, turned on my computer and checked my e-mail. Two hours later, after having fought several fires, solved the problems of others and took care of everything that had happened through my computer and my phone I could not remember what I wanted to do with the computer. I was ambushed. And I know better When I teach time management, I always start with the same question: how many of you have too much time and not enough to do it? In ten years, no one has ever raised a hand. It means we start each day knowing that we will not do everything.
The way we spend our time is therefore a key strategic decision. That's why it's a good idea to create a list of tasks and a list of ignorant people. The most difficult attention to focus is ours. But even with these lists, the challenge, as always, is the execution. How can you stick to a plan when so many things threaten to derail it? How can you focus on a few important points when so many things require your attention? But none of this impresses me. He has something that, in my opinion, is his true secret power. At the age of 94, he spends the first two hours of his day exercising. Ninety minutes to lift weights and 30 minutes to swim or walk. Every morning. He must do this to achieve his goals: on the occasion of his 95th birthday, he plans to swim from the California coast to the island of Santa Catalina, at a distance of 20 miles. Also, as he likes to say, I can not afford to die.
It will ruin my image. He works, therefore, in a constant and deliberate way towards his goals. He does the same things day after day. He cares about his physical condition and integrates it into his schedule. Managing our time must also become a ritual. Not just a list or a vague sense of our priorities. It's not consistent or deliberate. We must follow a continuous process, no matter what allows us to stay focused on our priorities throughout the day. I think we can do it in three steps that take less than 18 minutes on an eight-hour workday. STEP 1 (5 minutes) Set the plan for the day. Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make this day a great success.
What can you achieve realistically to achieve your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day with the feeling of being productive and successful? Write down these things. More importantly, take your calendar and schedule these things in the time slots, placing the most difficult and important elements at the beginning of the day. And at the beginning of the day, I mean, if possible, before even checking your e-mail. If your entire list does not match your calendar, redefine the priorities of your list. There is an enormous power to decide when and where you are going to do something.
In their book, The Power of Full Commitment, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in which a group of women agreed to do breast self-exams for 30 days. 100% of those who said where and when they were going to finish the exam. Only 53% of others did it. In another study, addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed population?) Have agreed to write a test before 17 hours. a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they would write the test completed it. None of the others did it. If you want to do something, decide when and ifYou will do it. Otherwise, remove it from your list. STEP 2 (1 minute per hour) Adjust yourself.
Set your watch, phone or computer to ring every hour. When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively. Then look at your calendar and make a commitment to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Do not let the hours manage you. STEP 3 (5 minutes) Exam. Turn off your computer and review your day. What worked? Where are you focused? Where have you been distracted? What did you learn that will help you be more productive tomorrow? The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing the same way again and again. The result of a ritual is therefore predictable. If you choose your goal deliberately and wisely, and if you constantly remember that goal, you will stay focused. It's simple. This particular ritual may not help you swim the Channel while towing a cruiser tied hands.
But it can just help you leave the office with a sense of productivity and success. And in the end, is not that a higher priority? Peter Bregman is CEO of Bregman Partners, a company that helps leaders create responsibility and inspire collective action on the most important work of their organization. Author of 18 Minutes success, his best book is Leading with Emotional Courage. He is also the host of the Bregman Leadership podcast. To receive an email when he or she posts, click here. A new year means new goals and a renewed desire to organize. To help you achieve your goals, we have gathered our favorite day planners from the professional to the feminine. Even if it's tempting to stay true to your phone's calendar app, why not make 2018 the year of digital and rediscover how good a good old Paper daily planner can be fun and practical.