Personal Management
A critical factor in successfully managing others is efficient management of self. Over the years I have tried quite a few models of personal management, but am quite happy with the process I have working at the moment. I have followed the “Getting Things Done” methodology but found it too verbose and time consuming to actually categorise all my tasks. In my reading I have come across “Zen to Done” which although built on the same principles is a lot easier to implement.
Every leader / manager has a “pile of work” that is waiting to be completed. Some may have more than one pile. To me the most important step of Zen to Done, and my personal management, is to capture everything I need to do into a single list. That means getting all the paper notes, voice mail messages, calendar reminders, email inbox, physical inbox etc, and creating a single list. When you do this for the first time, don’t worry about sorting. I like digital lists, and have become a fan of Toodledo.com which I sync with Ultimate ToDos on my iPod Touch and through a toodledo widget on my iGoogle. The advantage to Toodledo for me is its calendar view of tasks.
Having a single list of tasks allows me to plan for task completion more effectively. However this plan also relies on me being realistic about my time. I have come to learn that as a leader / manager you don’t own all of your time. Even though I have 630 minutes of lesson time where I am not teaching during the week, that does not mean I get 630 minutes to work on my tasks. There will always be interruptions, questions to answer and problems to solve. This is why I like ZTD’s idea of most important tasks. Have categorised in your task list a number of mot important tasks you know you can complete in the week. I limit myself to two (2). If I finish them and get to work on others, then that is a bomus. This also provides some perspectve and allows you to decline some requests for extra work, and provides a chance to be able to agree to that extra work you are actually interested in.
In order to effectively complete my MITs, I need to have a routine for work completion. For me this means developing a calendar of personal and work committments, and seeing where there is space to work relatively uninterrupted. I tend to stay at school after 3pm a couple days a week to get that uninterrupted time. However if doing this, its important to have a cut-off time. For me this is easy, as its important to be home for dinner with the family. To do this I have to leave by 5:30pm.
When I feel I am in control of my working life, I feel more confident to lead and manage my staff, and less stressed generally. I encourage you, read Zen to Done but most importantly develop a plan that works for you.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:03 am
I haven’t come across Zen to Done before. I will check it out, thanks for the link!
I know you’ve read Covey’s 7 Habits, so you may be familiar with his time management matrix.
http://www.orgcoach.net/timematrix.html
It is so easy to get caught up in dealing with quadrant 1, and being distracted by quadrants 3 and 4, that we can neglect quadrant 2 (and it’s the one Covey suggests focusing on most as it is most important and should reflect your life goals).
Enjoyed your post, yet again!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Thanks Emma, yes I am familiar with Covey’s matrix. I had not seen this iteration of it. I especially like how the quadrants have been named. Thanks for your continued support.
July 15th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
[...] I go home. To achieve this I will need to revisit a theory I have blogged about before – “Zen to Done.” Specifically the ubiquitous and complete capture. I need to devote an hour at the end [...]