THE KEY TO EFFICIENCY

How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?

~Anthony Robbins

• Do you often feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do?

• Do you find yourself missing deadlines? • Do you sometimes just forget to do something

important?

All of these are symptoms of not keeping a proper "To-Do List"

• To-Do Lists are prioritized lists of all the tasks that you need to carry out.

• They list everything that you have to do– Most important tasks at the top of the list– Least important tasks at the bottom

• By keeping a To-Do List, you make sure that your tasks are written down all in one place so you don't forget anything important.

• By prioritizing tasks, you plan the order in which you'll do them, so that you can tell what needs your immediate attention, and what you can leave until later.

To-Do Lists are essential if you're going to beat work overload

• When you don't use To-Do Lists effectively, you'll become unfocused

• When you do use them effectively, you'll be much better organized

• You'll experience less stress, safe in the knowledge that you haven't forgotten anything important.

• If you prioritize intelligently, you'll focus your time and energy on high value activities

Step 1:

• Write down all of the tasks that you need to complete.

• If they're large tasks, break out the first action step, and write this down with the larger task.

• Ideally, tasks or action steps should take no longer than 1-2 hours to complete.

Example:

• Read 400 pages• Read Chapters 1-5 of The Scarlet Letter• Math homework• Government homework• Talk with Katie• Ask Trent to Sadies• Practice piano• Read scriptures

Step 2:

• Run through these tasks allocating priorities from 1 (very important, or very urgent) to 5 (unimportant, or not at all urgent).

• If too many tasks have a high priority, run through the list again and demote the less important ones.

Example:

• 5 Read 400 pages• 2 Read Chapters 1-5 of The Scarlet Letter• 1 Math homework• 1 Government homework• 3 Talk with Katie• 4 Ask Trent to Sadies• 2 Practice piano• 2 Read scriptures

Once you have done this, rewrite the list in priority order:• 1 Math homework• 1 Government homework• 2 Read Chapters 1-5 of The Scarlet Letter• 2 Practice piano• 2 Read scriptures• 3 Talk with Katie• 4 Ask Trent to Sadies• 5 Read 400 pages

Check Up

• Spend 10 minutes at the end of the day organizing tasks on your To-Do List for the next day.

Example:• 1 Read Chapters 1-5 of The Scarlet Letter• 2 Talk with Katie• 2 Math homework• 2 Government homework• 2 Practice piano• 2 Read scriptures• 3 Ask Trent to Sadies• 4 Read 20 pages• 5 Read 380 pages

Using Software

• Software-based To-Do Lists can be efficient.• These can remind you of events or tasks that

will soon be overdue• They can be synchronized with your phone or

email• They can be shared with others if you're

collaborating on a project.

Time Management Software• MSWord or MSExcel • Microsoft Outlook• Gmail• On-line Accounts– Remember the Milk– Todoist– Ta-Da Lists– Toodledo

Advantages of Software

• One of the biggest advantages to using a software-based approach to manage your To-Do List is that you can update it easily.

• For example, instead of scratching off tasks and rewriting the list every day, software allows you to move and prioritize tasks quickly.

Key Points:

• To be well organized, you need to be using To-Do Lists.

• By using them, you will ensure that:– You remember to carry out all necessary tasks.– You tackle the most important jobs first, and don't

waste time on trivial tasks.– You don't get stressed by a large number of

unimportant jobs.

Homework!

• Write down a list of what needs to be done today.• Write down what needs to be done tomorrow• Write down what needs to be done this week• Combine the lists into one big list• Using numbers 1-5, prioritize your list– 1 is most important– 5 is least important

• Relist from the most important to the least.