2 | Time Management Survival Skills for Even the Busiest Professionals
300 Brickstone Square • Suite 201 • Andover, MA 01810 USA • 1.800.288.7246 • +1.978.649.8200 • info@corpedgroup.com
Create and Maintain a "To-Do" List
No matter how proficient you are with the latest
technological productivity devices, often times
the good old-fashioned "to-do list" is the simplest
to create and maintain. During your planning
moments, here is a tried and true strategy to try:
• List out all of the projects that you need
to complete on a piece of paper or on
your computer. For example, "remodel the
kitchen" would be a sample project that you
might have on your list.
• Break each project down into its component
tasks — your "remodel the kitchen" project
may have some of the following tasks:
research contractors, call top five contractors,
and set up appointments with top five
contractors.
• Assign dates to EVERY task. TBD is not a
due date! A due date not only makes you
accountable to that task, but also is a simple
way to prioritize. The more time sensitive the
task, the higher priority it is.
• For projects that you know you don't need
to complete in the near future, but that you
don't want to forget about, list those out at
the end of your list, in a section called "on
radar." That way, it's not forgotten, but you're
not accountable for it yet.
• For any project that you do on a regular basis,
make sure to save its task list somewhere you
can easily access it; then, the next time you
need to get that project done, you simply
just need to cut and paste the tasks you
previously outlined and set new due dates
with them.
It's important to note that the initial creation of
your to-do list can be time-consuming and a little
intimidating; but, once it's done, you simply just
need to maintain it.
Don't Forget the 80:20 Rule
The 80:20 Rule, or the Pareto principle, suggests
that of the things you do during your day, both
at work and at home, only 20 percent of those
things really matter. Broadly speaking, 80% of
all results come from 20% of all efforts; so, if you
identify which 20% of the tasks on your to-do list
are the most
important,
and you get
those done,
you can't help
but be more
efficient and
successful.
Understand the Time, Budget, and Quality
Triangle
Do you sometimes feel that your clients, customers,
boss, friends, family, etc., want everything from you
yesterday? A great way to negotiate with them is
to ask, "Do you want it good, fast, or cheap?" The
Time, Budget, Quality Triangle reflects the fact that
the three properties of a project are interrelated,
and it's impossible to optimize all three properties
— one will always suffer. The next time you feel
pressured by others, outline their three options to
them:
• I can do it quickly and to a high standard, but
then it will not be cheap.
• I can do it quickly and cheaply, but it will not
be of high quality.
• I can do it with high quality and cheaply, but it
will take a long time.
Learning to manage your time better takes a lot
of self discipline and involves finding the time
management tools and strategies that work best
for your lifestyle; however, make a commitment to
planning, creating and maintaining a to-do list and
negotiating with others, and the saying "so much to
do, with so little time" will be a thing of your past!
