What one thing do you need today?
Before starting any other task it is imperative that you complete the highest priority / most important task first. Stop and think about that for one second… This is the one task that will make your customers extremely happy, company lots of money, boss love you and with the right approach it can be all three. A typical example would be to write some material that addresses a customer issue which would otherwise stop her from buying a product.
Avoid the temptation to do what appeals to you most – it’s an easy trap to fall into as this stuff that makes you feel good and busy. Although hopefully by now you should have stopped doing this kind of thing. If not go back and review Managing Your Workload – Stop
Whilst working on your most important task do not check email, social networks or other time wasting activities – instead focus on the task in hand. If you find Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook too distracting then you might be wise to invest in a tool that stops the online distractions such as Freedom.
OK so now you’ve got the idea at the end of every day decide what that one crucial task is and do not start anything else until it’s complete. Dispense with multi-tasking as it doesn’t work. There’s lots of scientific evidence to back this up – how easy is it to do the washing up, brush your teeth whilst sending email?
By focusing on the important and urgent first you’ll notice that your weekly progress and effectiveness gets a massive boost. People around you will also start to notice that you are achieving more whilst not getting in a state.
To quote the Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero
The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil.
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