Busywork will take over if you let it

Lately there has been a real theme among my clients: how to find time to get important work done in the face of the relentless onslaught of to-dos. Here’s the hard reality…

The. Work. Will. Never. Be. Done.

Tasks – important and not, urgent and not, will continue to flow into your world regardless of how hard or efficiently you work. They will expand to fill the time and space available for them.

That means that unless you get on the front foot and actively set – and stick to – prioritising what matters to you, you will continue to fall behind.

What deserves your time and focus – both at work and outside it? Lock those in, then let the rest of the work flow around it.

You may have heard of Steven Covey’s productivity metaphor of rocks, pebbles and sand.

Imagine your time available is a glass jar. The things you do are either rocks, pebbles or sand. The most important things are rocks – the ones that are crucial to your long term health, success and happiness. Then come pebbles – things you need or want to do but which aren’t mission critical. Everything else is sand.

The sand will flow in and fill your jar – fast. In a flash, there will be no room for your rocks.

It’s imperative that you put your rocks in first, then the pebbles, then let the sand flow around them to the extent there’s space available.

  • Take a look at your calendar. How much time is blocked out for big rocks? How much is filled with sand?

  • Map your to-do list against an important/not, urgent/not grid. If items are not important, why are you doing them?

  • Keep a log of the time you spend on various tasks over the course of a week. If it’s more sand than rocks, you need to get active about changing that.

Ask yourself: If you keep going the way you are, what will the result be in 1, 5 or 10 years’ time?

Get into your calendar and make time for the rocks. Stick to it.

Until next week,

Take care of yourself and others

Madeleine

PS. Want to work with me as you make time for what matters? Let me know. Send me a message to enquire, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.

I help accomplished professionals untangle difficult career questions so they can thrive in work and life.

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Madeleine ShawPrioritisation, time management, focus, productivity, scheduling