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Use Your To Do List Effectively and Achieve More
Having a properly prepared daily list to work from may be the best tool in your time management tool box. With disciplined use, it can help you stay on track and minimize distractions.The key to developing that list is to make sure that those items you highlight as priorities truly are the priorities. It is a sad fact that many people give a high percentage of low priority items a high priority status. There are probably two or three big items at most that will make the biggest difference. Concentrate on them first. Review your list throughout the day and re-prioritize as needed.
The short and long of it is that if we don't dream, we have nothing to strive for. When we stop dreaming and reaching, our God-given talents don't lie in some bank gaining interest so we can use them when we need them. On the contrary, when we stop pursuing dreams and “impossibilities”, our souls dry up. Bill and Kathy Peel, Discover Your Destiny1996, Navpress
Five Days of Action- DAY ONE Determine to have a plan and work from a list. If you are lousy at making a list that can clearly differentiate between a true priority and a lesser task, access a reliable time management resource - read a good book about it or work with a coach. The to-do list is your most important tool of the day, and has to be well thought out or you will be busy but ineffective.
- DAY TWO Review your default method of approaching your daily to-do list (written or in your head). Do you start with the easiest item first or the hardest? Is most of your day spent putting out to-do list fires or advancing significant priorities? What fundamental changes need to be made to be more effective in accomplishing the few vital things that will reach the most significant outcomes?
- DAY THREE Do you have a strategic plan? What are you working to achieve? What matters? What are today's priorities? Put these guiding lights clearly in place and you will have something to regularly check your to-do list against. Today, get clear on your life, work or organizational plan and how your daily to-do list either moves it forward or holds it back.
- DAY FOUR Use the simplest method of recording and communicating information that works for you and aligns with the needs of those around you who also need to know.
- DAY FIVE Review today's to-do list. Does it reflect priorities? Is it a stress maker or a stress buster? Celebrate your great to-do list. Adjust your attitudes and methods where needed.
Please Share Your Experience or Insight About This Topic?
Do you have a great story about this topic? I invite you to share it! I'm sure your experience and insight will prove helpful to someone else.
The objective of this site and our whole service is to help others be more productive and effective in work, in leadership and life in general. So your story is important. If it fits the topic, I'll use it.
Thanks for doing this.
Gary
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What These Practical Productivity Strategies Have Meant to Others
Gary Wood is a master Coach who delivers just what we need: laser-like direction and tools to gain control of our time and life ... these principles are practical and on target. F. Joseph Miller
Sr. Director, Information Technology
XOMA (US) LLC
California
These principles have been authored by a man who has been in the trenches long enough to know the good and practical nuggets from the trendy but impractical nuggets. I have been able to integrate many of these principles into my work habits and I am now able to achieve more results with less stress. A must-read for anyone seeking to break out of a rut and rise to new levels of personal achievement. Tim Hauber
General Manager
Lucayan Tropical Produce
Bahamas
These principles are a fantastic teaching tool that reminds even the most seasoned leaders of the important concepts that must be taught, modeled and measured to strengthen one's style and approach. They provide hope that if the commitment is there, improvement can happen. Sherry Fournier
Director, Autism Services
Child Care Resources
Ontario
Gary Wood is an excellent coach. In these principles you will discover Gary's coaching knowledge and skills. He not only shares important principles, but provides diagnostic tools and practical solutions, and the motivation to use them. Colin McKenzie
Senior Pastor
Fellowship Baptist Church
Kanata, Ontario
Gary has the gift of bringing clarity and focus to any situation. These principles and his book belong on the desks of busy people who will learn from his wisdom and pragmatic style. Judy Santos
ICF Master Certified Coach
Founder and President
Christian Coaches Network
As a long-time colleague of Gary's, I have grown to appreciate his practicality, creativity and leadership. His latest book, 52 Solutions for Those Who Need a 25 Hour Day, demonstrates these same attributes. It is very practical in introducing one concrete idea at a time, it is creative in suggesting how to work with this idea indifferent ways throughout the week, and it shows leadership in illustrating how we can integrate many small changes over the period of a year. If we follow Gary's clear directions, I am sure that each of us can significantly "redeem our time" and become more effective in our individual vocation. Dr. Doug Hayhoe
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Science Education
Tyndale University College
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