manage my time more efficiently

I’ve been skimming through Tim Ferriss’ book “The 4-Hour Workweek” for the section on time management. He suggests, before leaving work for the night, coming up with a short list of tasks (short enough to fit on a small note card) that must be completed the next day and then to set aside strict time limits on completing each task and to get them done during the allotted time no matter what. I’ve been trying this during the past couple of weeks. Making the list isn’t so hard; the very difficult part is getting each task done under a tight time restriction. One thing I’ve gotten out of this exercise so far is an appreciation of how easy it is to waste time pondering all the potential problems of proceeding with a task and all the peripheral issues surrounding it that little progress is made at all. I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of jumping into a project with simplifying or imperfect assumptions and making it perfect with time after the groundwork has already been laid.

I often ask myself now in the middle of a task, “What needs to happen to get this done? Am I doing or thinking about things that support that goal or distract me from it?” This way, I’m more likely to catch myself when I’m wasting time. Also, if I’m working on something that’s complex and just can’t be done in the time I initially allotted for it, I’m better able to document the issues that are causing the delays. I’m not saying I’m good at this yet, but this is the direction I’m working toward…

My approach at work is first thing in the morning to write down and prioritize all the tasks I need to complete or make progress on, and at the end of the day before leaving to check my list to see what I accomplished and understand where I fell short and what to improve on the next day. This has been kind of hard, and it takes discipline.

My approach at home is similar but less rigid (because after all life isn’t fun if everything you do is strictly scheduled). There are things I’d like to get done and personal activities I need to set aside time for, and I hope by monitoring how I spend my time more closely, I can do more of the fun and rewarding things I want to experience.