How many times have you started a day with a bunch of great ideas and good intentions, only to have it fly off the rails? (I must confess, a little Ozzy Osborn did influence the title.) You wanted to leave work right at 4:30 but when you look at the clock, it’s 6:00. Everything you wanted to do after work is now trained-wrecked, and all you’re going to do is sit on the couch and pour yourself a big glass of wine (…or two or three…but who’s counting?)
Here is a simple down and dirty activity that you can do every morning to make sure you stay on track throughout your day; all on one sheet of paper. It’s called the “Get It Done” sheet, and you can knock it out in 5 easy steps.
Step 1: Give me 10
Carve out 10 minutes before you start ANY work (this includes checking your email) for the day. This allows you to focus on selecting and planning your most important activity.
Step 2: Make it both business and personal
Think of THE most important thing that needs to get accomplished today with a spin: On the top right-hand side of your “Get It Done” sheet, write down the one most important business item to accomplish, and on the left-hand side, write down the most important personal item.
Examples:
Make 15 sales calls / Drink 2 liters of water
Run audit report / Walk for 30 minutes today
Finish writing article / Read to my daughter
Step 3: List it in order to do it
Below each priority item, write down the corresponding activities that you need to do to make it happen. This could be making a list of the people you need to call today, or even something as a simple as filling up a liter container of water and putting it next to your desk.
Step 4: Calendar – email – action
Block time on your calendar for each item and remember to keep it a priority (this may mean having a back-up time slot just in case your day blows up.) Use the same approach with emails. Scan them quickly for anything that is related to your priority item and open those emails first. So if you have a meeting with Ms. Big Deal today and that is #1 on your “Get it Done” list, make sure everything supporting and related to that meeting is a priority on your calendar. Then, open ONLY emails related to that project FIRST; get to everything else afterwards.
Step 5: Don’t forget about you
When you get caught up at work, sometimes you forget about doing important things for yourself. Make sure you are focusing just as intensely on the personal side of that sheet of paper. My favorite example is a client that really wanted to get a 15-minute workout in each day but never seemed to have enough time. She worked on the 4th floor of a building. Her solution: walk up and down the stairs for 5 minutes 3 times a day. She found it a wonderful break when things were getting overwhelming at work and it was a great way to give her a clear head when she returned. She thought it was pure genius. (I would love to take credit but I reminded her it was her idea.)
It’s very easy to let your day run away with you and even easier to put everyone else first. Make it a point to create a “Get It Done” sheet. Help yourself by getting into the habit and making it a daily ritual. It will not only help you feel like you accomplished something, but it might actually help you leave work on time. I use this system myself and it’s been especially helpful knocking out my daily “Business” and ”Personal” item, especially since the introduction of my new baby daughter. (Now if I could just figure out how to bottle feed while I sleep or grow a third arm while changing a diaper.)
