When you feel you have too many items to accomplish on your “to do” list, or when you have a strict deadline for specific tasks try this.
• Take a short break to compose yourself. Take deeper than normal breaths. If your brain feels “partly cloudy,” wash your face in cool water.
• Determine what exactly you have to do and when you must do it. List the tasks. Rank them in descending order of importance. Check the current time. How many hours do you have before you must complete the listed tasks?
• Divide the number of tasks into the total minutes you have available. This will tell you how much time you have to complete an average task from your list.
• Look at the list. Are there any quick and easy entries? Do them first. This will allow more time for the more important or more difficult items. Only do tasks in this way that you know will take a shorter time than the average. If it would take longer, go directly to the most important tasks and begin.
• If there are phone calls to make, faxes to send, or e-mails to write, can you do these first and quickly? Since we often get voice mail on our first contact attempt, and faxes and emails incur a time delay between receipt and response, doing these first and fast could save time.
• After these preliminary steps, reassess your time and tasks remaining. Set an alarm clock for the number of minutes allowed for each task and begin. Ask not to have interruptions or don’t answer the phone unless the caller is part of your list. If you must speak to someone, manage your time. Ask if you may call back. Give them a specific time. Keep on task. If the alarm rings before you finish, move to the next task. Reset the alarm. Move on. You will accomplish some tasks faster. When you do, use the remaining time you saved on that task for the most important task you didn’t complete.
• An important part of making this technique successful is your attitude toward the list and the available time. When you first determine your average time per task, ask yourself: “Is this enough time, if I work diligently, to complete these tasks?” If not, pare down the list until you have confidence that you can complete those tasks. Relaxed, concentrated effort accomplishes more than worry or anxiety.
• This is not an every day technique. This is for special occasions when something has disrupted your schedule, or you suddenly have a new, time-sensitive task given to you.
• If you feel this is an every day approach, find ways to better organize your work.
Tim O’Brien writes continuing-education courses and presents seminars on stress management.
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