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TODAY’S IDEA: Most important tasks
— From The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman
We all have a very long list of things to do on a daily basis, but not all of our tasks are the same: some of them are very important and some are not important at all. “Everything on your plate is not critically important, so don’t treat everything on your task list equally,” says Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA.
“A Most Important Task (MIT) is a critical task that will create the most important results you’re looking to achieve. […] If you want to make the most of your limited time and energy, it pays to focus on completing the tasks that will make the biggest difference first…”
As simple as this is, by taking a few minutes every morning (or preferably the night before) to identify the most important tasks, you’ll be able to focus on accomplishing them first. Kaufman recommends creating a list of two or three MITs and focusing on getting them done as quickly as possible. Further, he suggests keeping your MITs separate from your general to-do list, by using such things as a 3 X 5 index card or Dave Seah’s awesome Emergent Task Planner (free).
The key to figuring out what your MITs are, according to Kaufman, is to ask yourself the following questions: “What are the two or three most important things that I need to do today? What are the things that—if I got them done today—would make a huge difference?” Those are the only things that should go on your MIT list.
And to be über productive, Kaufman recommends combining your MIT’s with Parkinson’s Law. Remember, this is the law that states that, work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. (Wikipedia).
How do you do this?
Easy: set an artificial time limit. “If you set a goal to have all your MITs done by 10:00 am you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can complete the day’s most important tasks.”
And by doing this, you will create a state of focus and effectiveness (flow) that will give you permission to decline interruptions that aren’t important. “If you’re working on your MITs and someone calls you, it’s easier to ignore the call or tell the caller, ‘I’m working under deadline—I’ll get back to you later.’ By definition, everything that’s not an MIT is not as important, so it’s easier to say no to noncritical interruptions.
Combine this with the Be Awesomely Effective miniseries and you’ll be ultra-productive. And you’ll have the rest of your day to deal with anything else that comes up, or to dedicate to crossing off items on your non-MIT task list.
ACTION
TODAY: Take 5 minutes to figure out your MITs for today. Also, take a look at Dave Seah’s Emergent Task Planner. If you like it, download it, print it, and use it today (it’s a great, free resource). If not, think of the best method for you to have a separate list with your MITs.
FUTURE: As you continue to use the MIT + Parkinson’s Law concept, go back and read the Be Awesomely Effective miniseries. This will help you create the best environment where you will hopefully achieve a state of flow.
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