Time Management: Handling Tasks One at a Time

Managing Tasks

In the business world, getting things done is one of the key ingredients to effective projects. Many of us have mastered doing several things at once or multitasking, but it is effective?

It may seem like we are slaying tasks as we talk on the phone, type up an email, and chat with the spouse, but actually we’re not getting much done quickly. Don’t feel bad. We have all been victims of this anxiousness to finish to-do’s so we can split. Here are a few ideas to actually help you finish tasks effectively.

Hunter Gather

First I think you should have a place to gather all of those ideas and tasks. You can use a paper notepad or an electronic notepad. I personally use Microsoft OneNote. Whatever your choose we should have a place to pull in all things priority or non-priority. This way we can sit and assess what is on our plates verse trying to remember everything on our minds.

Yes. There are some who challenge themselves by committing everything to memory. It may work for a small to do list; however, as your to do list grows, you’re going to need a little more organization.

Sort and Destroy

Once you have all of your to-dos in one place, begin to sort those items according to their priority and urgency. Be honest in this stage. Watching a youtube clip your buddy sent you might not be something that needs to go high on your radar.

For me, when it comes to sorting tasks, I use a technique similar to Stephen Covey’s time matrix. Basically, you will place your tasks in one of four categories.

1. Urgent & important
2. Important, but not urgent
3. Urgent, but not important
4. Neither important, nor urgent

For starters, place your tasks in one of two sections: priority or not priority. I like this simple approach.

Pick and Play

Pick – This is the get it done stage. Pick the 5 most important tasks in your priority section. This is what you should focus on for the day. Can you through a few non-priority task in there? Sure, but be sure to focus on the first five.

Play – Pull out your timer and set a reasonable amount of time to work on each task. I tend to start with 30 to 60 minute intervals for each task. Why this short amount of time? For me, if I give the task too much time, I might drift off a little. Keeping the time frame nice and tight helps me to stay focused. Reminder: It is important to focus on that one task.

Conclusion

Again, many of us have mastered doing several things at once or multitasking, but the true way to get things done is to do them one at a time. I hope this helps you out a little. It sure helped me turn things around. Here is an interesting talk about multitasking by Paolo Cardini when he spoke at Ted. Check it out!

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