Some time ago,I found myself very busy and all my time was filled. I wondered if I was doing the right things but decided that I should just hope that I was doing well. Later I realized that I was very productive and getting lots done but I was not being effective.
Stephen Covey talks about the seven habits of highly effective people. I initially read that as successful people but later realize he meant something else.
The key for me is to decide what are my most important priorities and make sure that I am working on those. I think I was filling my days with busy work as opposed to working on the important things.
To be effective we must be working on the right things not just doing things right. When I want to determine the right things, I work on setting my priority goals. I use a twenty minute brainstorming approach to develop my goals. The procedure is as follows:
- Have a time piece in view, and spend four minutes writing down as many as possible long term goals.
This technique will give you a list that will permit you to be aware of how effective you are being with the use of your time. The amazing thing is how many of you goals you will have made significant progress on in three months. I think this is the true measure of being effective. You are working on the right things.
OK, take out four sheets of paper or open a Word Document and spend the next twenty minutes doing this exercise. You will become much more effective.