Time Management: To Do Lists

When I was young my friends and I would use a magnifying glass to catch the sunlight to start camp fires. We would prepare a bed of grass with small wood chips on top, and then would use the magnifying glass to focus sunlight onto it. Within a short period of time the intense light would start the grass smoldering, and with continued effort the grass would catch fire.

In our daily tasks we have much to do in our business. One way to help catch things "on fire" is to increase our focus on the tasks at hand. We each have 24 hours in a given day. How we use it is determined by our situation and desires.

I have found with the busy daily activities I have greater success when I focus on a list of "to do" items. I compile this list the day before or early in the morning. The list has three areas of focus. The first is headed: critical. The second: needs to happen. The third: to get started.

Under each heading I develop a list of priorities for that day, and throughout the day I work on the items. Many days I may only get one or two items under each heading finished. The ones not checked off on a given day I carry forward to the next day.

This simple approach is not perfect, but I have achieved greater focus and better time management. Try it! It may well work for you.