The Accountability Guy®
Your daily day to day tasks have to be dealt with in a streamlined way, otherwise chaos will ensue and no work will be completed. However, prioritization is one of the most important tasks that a fast paced individual has to deal with effectively. If certain parameters go off the set path, no work will be completed in an effective manner. We have to make sure that we go about our work in a set hierarchy. Following is the list of mannerisms one must adopt in order to see that one’s work gets completed on due time.
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When initiating a task, make sure to write everything down on a sheet of paper or make a sheet in excel. This will allow you to see all of the pending tasks and set the priority accordingly. If all of the tasks are in one place, it makes it easier to visually understand the due process an individual needs to adopt while beginning a new task.
From small tasks like laundry to bigger tasks like client meetings, one must write down the tasks so that all of it can be captured in the same place. Once you pen down stuff you can quickly notice that different jobs require different levels of attention.
After penning down all of the daily tasks you should highlight the jobs that are more important than others. While you are doing this, mark different levels of priorities with different colors, so that you can assess which tasks need to be completed before others. Then proceed with breaking down monthly tasks into weekly tasks and so on. Start on a macro scale then work towards a micro scale.
For example, a meeting with the clients should take top priority but a meeting with colleagues should be prioritized less than the former. Prioritizing weekly and monthly goals according to their value really sets the pace of the effectiveness at which you complete tasks.
When working on different tasks, it is better to prioritize a single task, rather than working on multiple smaller tasks at the same time. When it comes to dabbling between multiple tasks at the same time, research shows that working on two different tasks at the same time results in a decline in performance in both the tasks. People in the positions of power, or generally higher ranking officials, tend to work on one job and give their utmost priority to the task at hand. This obviously reflects the reason they are more successful than people who tend to multitask.
A key point to remember when using this approach is to identify the risks in the form of distractions to your work. Take necessary steps to avoid this and move forward with a strong sense of determination. Keep your phone switched off while making presentations to avoid being distracted and losing your flow state.
While working on something, you have to take into account the amount of work that is going to go into that task. Certain jobs such as pulling out data for research might take more time than working on an automated job such as compiling code etc. Making presentations tends to take a majority of your daily routine because they require data, creativity, simplicity and research to make. Such tasks should be marked red in your daily priority list as mentioned above. Initiate the day with these tasks so that you don’t have to worry about fleeting time before the day ends.
If you take up a more work intensive task at the start of the day, it is easier to manage the smaller tasks that you might have.
If you need to devote most of your thinking and mental capacity to a job you need to do it anywhere from 10 AM to 2 PM or from 4PM to 10PM as scientific research suggests that the human mind is constantly in a state of learning during this time. Tasks which require creative input should be completed between this range of time.
Setting realistic goals for yourself will lead to more effective prioritization of your work. Setting unrealistic time management goals will only lead to degradation of work results and will be noticeable. If you want to set realistic goals, assessing the time and effort required by a task can be done as mentioned above.
Tying all the above mentioned steps in a cohesive manner will result in a greatly improved work ethic and you will realise all your expectations in a seamless manner. Prioritizing work can be a difficult task, but with the steps mentioned above, you can balance all of your tasks in a healthy and a conducive manner.
Darren Finkelstein is The Accountability Guy®. This involves being an International Accountability Coach, Business Advisor, Mentor, Author, and Speaker.
Darren works with high-performing teams and individuals across Australia/NZ, UK, USA, Latin America, Europe and Asia to help get results, achieve their wildest dreams, and smash goals. He does this by leveraging over 30 years of experience working in the corporate world and small businesses.
A successful business owner himself, Darren won the Australian Entrepreneur of the Year award for Dent Global after building a wonderful lifestyle business, successfully sold and exited after 15 years.
Before this, Darren worked for over 10 years at Apple Inc. as ‘Manager of Commercial Markets’ during the inspirational Steve Jobs era. While there, he was awarded the prestigious Golden Apple Award.
Darren’s lessons in accountability can help individuals and teams at all levels of a business or organisation across the globe, and are based on actions and results:
Know what to do first
know what to do next
know what to do more of
1. Take the Accountability Scorecard
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2. Read my book "The Accountability Advantage - Play Your Best Game"
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3. Book a complimentary Accountability Assessment
Invest 15 minutes now and avoid months or years of struggle. If you genuinely need help becoming more accountable, it can’t hurt to find out. Book here.
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