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How to Get it All Done...

By Marsha Egan

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Published: 11Nov2009
Word count: 778
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So much to do -- so little time to do it all. I can't tell you how many times I have heard exasperated people lament that they just don't know how they will get it all done.

That's part of the problem -- if our expectation is that we are supposed to get everything done that is on our to do list, our expectations are just plain unrealistic. We have essentially failed before we have even begun.

Quite simply, we can't get it all done.

The sooner we make peace with that reality, the better chance we have of managing our days, weeks, and months with reduced stress and more satisfaction.

So, if we can't get it all done, what SHOULD we get done? And therein lies the million-dollar question...

Too many people spend time on things that are not important to their business or personal goals. They suffer distraction from what is truly important. They spend time doing things that are important on other peoples' to do lists, rather than their own

In my time management seminars, I ask people to write down in column A the five things that most consume their time. Then, after that is completed, I ask them to complete column B, which is what five things are the most important in their lives. There is usually a stunned silence as people compare those two columns.

The key is to determine what is truly important to you, and to make sure that the items on your list are advancing those important things. Sometimes it is not that easy to articulate clearly what those truly important items are. We all get so caught up in the day today morass of activities, that it can be very easy to lose sight of those things.

It is helpful to stand back, and take a macro view of your life, your career, your family, your health, etc., and ask yourself, "if this area of my life was at its peak, what would be happening?" Another exercise I use is to ask people in my seminars to envision themselves at age 90 and looking back on their lives, and listing the five things they are most proud of accomplishing.

As an example, someone might say that being healthy was one of their values, and that it was really important to them. Yet, nowhere on their daily or weekly action lists was any exercise scheduled. By developing clarity on what is important, you can make space in your life for that activity.

One of the biggest challenges is to get to what we call the "important but not urgent" stuff. These are the actions and activities that can help you build toward the personal and professional success you desire, but have not reached an urgent or crisis stage. Again, exercise is a great example of this. It may be important to you that you are healthy, but you can't do all of your exercise at once. You need to spread it out and exercise regularly.

When people tell me they need or want to "find" time to do something, I feel like they have already defeated themselves. Remembering those to do lists with 493 items on them, it will be difficult to find time. We don't "find" time -- we "make" time. And we need to make time for what is important.

Finally, we have to have realistic expectations about what we can accomplish in a day or a week. When I look at those five-page to do lists that some people have, I can't help but think they can be setting themselves up for regular disappointment.

What I like to suggest is that people assess how many productive hours they have in a certain day, look at their lists of what is important and what activities support their personal and professional goals, and then make time for those in their days, weeks and months.

It is very helpful to actually assign an estimated amount of time for activities. Once that is done, I coach people to double that amount of time. That way, as they are planning their own work, they can have a realistic expectation of what they can accomplish in a day. This practice also enables people to seek help when they are overwhelmed, or to say no to requests that may not be important or urgent.

Being clear about what is truly important to you, and having realistic expectations about what you can physically accomplish in a day or a week can go a long way to helping you achieve your goals and boost your self satisfaction. So, what are you going to make time for tomorrow?

Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified executive coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development and can be reached at marsha@ marshaegan.com or visit http://www.marshaegan.com .

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