"How to Allocate Your Time, and Your Effort"

 Monday 15 April 2013

Allocate Your Time and Your Effort ! 

To succeed in today's busy world, you need to decide what to excel at and what to do just adequately enough ! 

 Break down activities you do into three categories: (a)  invest, (b) neutral, or (c) optimize. 

(a) "Investment" pursuits are areas where more time and a higher quality of work lead to an exponential payoff, such as strategic planning. Aim for A-level work here. 

(b) In "neutral" activities, more time spent doesn't necessarily mean a significantly higher return. Attending project meetings is a good example. You don't need to excel; a B is fine ! 

(c)  "Optimize" duties are those where additional time leads to no added value , but on the other hand,  keeps you from doing other, more valuable activities. The faster you get these tasks done, the better. Minimize the time spent on ' optimize activities'  so that you can dedicate your energy to higher quality work.

Action Plan or Exercise : 

Sit down with a piece of paper and write down 9 activities in total. 

Your 3  ' investment ' activities that yield highest professional return for you , 3 Neutral Activities which are routine stuff that must be done ;  and 3 ' optimize'  activities you can get done quickly or ,preferably , can delegate or ideally outsource that work and get done by others. 

 adapted from "How to Allocate Your Time, and Your Effort" by Elizabeth Grace Saunders.