Time Management: Keep Pushin' to Get Things Done

These days there is so much to do and so little time to do it in. It's hard to keep track of it all. Even as an expert in stress management things can get quite hectic for me if I don't make full use of my "tools." I believe in the philosophy of "on the paper and off the mind." Yes, I am talking about list-making here, but list making with a purpose. The process is twofold -- to keep things out of your mind so you can focus on the task at hand and to make it so the task you are currently working on is the one which will most reduce your level of stress.

The first step in the process is to write down all the things you need or want to do. This part is easy. If it takes you longer than a few minutes to scribble these tasks down, however, you just might have way too much going on. Are there some tasks you can eliminate or delegate? If you can get rid of these items then do so.

Now that you have your list in front of you it is time to organize it. I split my tasks up into four categories:

1. Crisis/Urgent -- These are things, which if they aren't dealt with immediately will lead to further chaos, stress or expense. Hopefully, you will rarely have anything in this category. An example would be when my home's air conditioner died in the middle of summer. The high humidity of a Georgia summer is not good for many of the items I own in addition to being downright uncomfortable. Getting the air conditioner fixed became a Crisis/Urgent project. Reading my e-mail (though important) was not. The tasks that fall into this category are pretty straightforward.
2. High Priority/Important -- I consider stress reduction to be a high priority, important task, but mostly what I put in this category is routine stuff which needs to get done and the sooner, the better. There isn't as much of a sense of urgency here (although if not dealt with promptly these tasks can be bumped up into the Crisis/Urgent category). An example would be scheduling to have the tires replaced on your car. Wait too long and you might end up with a totaled vehicle after one of your bald tires blows.
3. Me Stuff -- This category is for all those things that aren't all that urgent, but you want to do them because they are important to you. Some examples would be writing a letter to your sibling or working on a hobby project or listening to a guided-imagery tape while diffusing an essential oil. These are tasks that are necessary and important to our well-being. They are tasks that nurture us. Many times the Me Stuff is the first to get tossed aside. Life shouldn't be this way, but it often is. As I feel it is important to have balance, you should strive to accomplish at least one thing on your Me Stuff list each day. The only time you should take a pass is when doing so means that a Crisis/Urgent task or High Priority/Important task will get worse as a result.
4. Time Wasters -- These items include things such as too much TV, junk mail etc. These are tasks that are not going to contribute to meeting our goals or to reducing our stress. This is the easiest part of the list to deal with -- i.e. don't do them! Throw that junk mail and those catalogs away! Turn the TV off! If there's a show you just have to watch then tape it! You can literally watch Saturday Night Live in 50 minutes instead of 90 if you tape it then zoom through the commercials when viewing it. Plus you won't lose sleep staying up late.

Phew! Now that you have your list the next step will take some thought. Place your items in their appropriate categories. Then take a good hard look at your lists. Out of every small thing that you have to do what is the ONE thing that is most important? Take a minute and think it through. I suggest that you make this item your top priority. Many days you are only going to be able to accomplish one important thing. If you can walk away from your day having vanquished the single most stressful item from your list then you have had a GOOD day! Pat yourself on the back, snuggle under the covers and listen to your soothing sounds machine.

If your biggest project doesn't eat up your entire day then continue down your prioritized lists. Do the Crisis/Urgent things first then work on the High Priority/Important list next. The key is to keep progressing toward the fulfillment of your goals. There are some other important points I'd like to make.

First of all, I promote taking care of yourself. Many times, when I've completed a crisis or high priority task, I reward myself with one of my Me Stuff items. Sometimes a small reward can help motivate you to keep tackling the bigger projects. It is important to take a break.
Secondly, with the bigger projects, sometimes you can become overwhelmed by the scope of it all. How can you maintain a sense of life balance while still working toward your goals? I use a technique that I call the "Keep Pushin'" principle. Some days it's not possible to finish a project without going nuts! I will often break a project down into stages. I work on one stage one day and Keep Pushin' until the project is done. For example, one of the things on our family goals list for this year was to re-paint our shed. We did not want to eat up an entire day painting our shed (and thus becoming over-tired and sore) so we broke it up into the following stages:

Day 1 -- We purchased all the necessary supplies, came home, cleaned the shed and made all the required surface repairs. Then we did something fun as a family.

Day 2 -- We painted the bulk of the surface.

Day 3 -- We painted the trim and finished cleaning up.

Sure, sometimes it's nice to get something completely finished and crossed off the list, but not at the expense of being exhausted.
Lastly, I really get a kick out of crossing things off of my lists. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and motivates me to do more. Sometimes I will do a bunch of little tasks out of the usual order so I can have the pleasure of slashing those items with a pencil. These are usually little things which take 5 minutes or less.
I hope that you've found the above to be useful. A little bit of planning can prevent a heck of a lot of stress.