Priorities

How to set priorities ` Managing your “in-box”

“The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
Stephen Covey

In my previous blog we talked about goal-setting and the need to have a “roadmap to success”.  Prior to setting up your goals we need to explore deeper into what is really important.  There are many ways to do this.  Some are quite involved and are based on prevailing conditions and an array of extenuating factors.  We can easily get caught up in the many minutiae of making a decision.  The key is to get organized and make the most of our most limited resource ---Time!

Did you ever have a time that your e-mail inbox had several hundred messages?  How in the world are we going to get rid of them?  Have I missed anything important?  A goal that you may want to consider is making sure that your inbox at the end of the day has no more than a page of items in it.  Preferably much smaller.  How can we do this?

The simplest way to prioritize your task is the A,B, C system.  It cuts straight to the core and will work in most situations.  We are faced with so many tasks in our day to day lives.  Personal & Business tasks can get overwhelming.  By using the A,B, C formula you can better ensure that you are not letting anything slip through the cracks and help you stay on course for achieving your goals.

·         Your “A” file are the items that are “MUST DOs”.  These are your high priority goals or activities that must be achieved if you are to reach your goals. 

·         Your “B” file are the items that you “SHOULD DO” but are not vital to be completed to achieve your goal.  These are the “niceties” that would be comforting to have done but they are not truly essential.  You should have far more of these than your “A” file.

·         Your “C” file are the items that would be “NICE TO DO”.  These are all the extras…the fluff.  In time management you will need to quickly move these to the trash bin. 

Keep in mind that you should only handle a paper once in the initial process of sorting through your “in-box” for the day.  Move them into one of these three files and then begin to act on them. 

By “cleaning up” our tasks and prioritizing by NEEDs you will become much better organized on your way to meeting your goals.  You will minimize the chance that you miss an important administrative task or deadline and steer your way to greater results and productivity.

Good selling!