Why You Need to Count to 3

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Because you can only do one job at a time.

Not three.

Despite humans trying to mimic their higher-cousins, operating systems, by claiming “I’m Multi-tasking!”.

So I am no different from you. I function best, produce the most fastest when I can focus on one job and deal with it to completion.

That’s why this (Saturday) morning, feeling overwhelmed, I took 15 seconds to identify the 3 tasks in my overwhelming task stream that ought to be done.

Turns out they were:

1: Complete the draft of the Excel Application course

2: Set up MailChimp for my eLetter

3: Work on the Marketing Plan proposed by the brilliant Geoff Hewko

So it’s out with three manila folders, three hanging folders and three plastic tabs.

Three labels, and into each folder goes the collection of notes and items that have accumulated on my desk this past week.

Now my work desk sports 3 hanging folders; I will pick one, work on it, and then file any new notes back in the hanging folder and file it away in my “Projects” file cabinet drawer and start on the next task.

I might, this being a weekend, leave the 3 folders on the other desk so that I can pick which one I feel like working on.

This brings in yet another aspect of Goals, Objectives, Deliverables and Deadlines. Even for this weekend, a short time span, I need to set myself an attainable goal for each project BEFORE I open the folder.

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