In the unending challenge to juggle more things to do than time to do it, I tried something different this week. I always work with short to-do lists, but this week I tried a different tactic. I kept open in a window in front of me on my computer a simple prioritized list using the Windows Sticky Notes program, and determined to tackle the items in order, getting as many done during the work day as possible, then setting up the list for the next day before leaving work. That’s basic to-do list management – nothing new or special.
I’ve used Outlook’s task list for a long while, but the problem is that so much time in Outlook is spent in the inbox or calendar that the task list can get lost in the competition for attention. Sticky Notes allowed me to keep another window prominent throughout the day as a reminder. (The fact that I used Sticky Notes is irrelevant. A simple list in any program will do.)
However, since a crazy quantity of incoming emails usually distracts me from getting as many to-do list items completed as I should, I also made an item on the daily to-do list of spending just one hour cleaning up emails. I limited time in my inbox to that hour daily this week. If I was to actually take the time to handle all the emails that have come in to my inbox the past few days, it would take several hours per day of my time to address them. The problem with doing that is that spending so much time handling emails keeps me from doing the more important work that I’m really hired to do and must do in order to make my greatest impact.
Here is a key lesson: Email is a to-do list that others create for you.
We can’t allow others to create our to-do lists. We must make them ourselves and not let others change them. Of course, those we report to always have the option of mandating a change in our priorities; that’s understood. But especially for information workers in an environment where interruptions are frequent, we must set up some boundaries and processes that help us keep the focus on doing the most important things.
Have I accomplished everything requested by others this week with this approach? No, I haven’t. But I’ve completed some very important items that have been on my to-do list for too long, and that were previously shoved aside by spending too much time on email. My inbox has consequently swollen in size as I write this, growing daily as unexpected items come in that others want my help with or feedback regarding. Sadly, most of those will have to wait. I intend to keep on getting the big-ticket important things done, devoting no more than one hour per day to responding to the other kinds of emails. I suspect the world won’t end, even though some sending those emails may think it will. Ultimately, I know it will take an additional body on my team to do everything that is expected of me, so I have to get the important things done first and let the rest slide.
Bottom line: don’t let others create your to-do list or divert you from the one you’ve created.
Two months ago I wrote down the three words that serve as this post’s title: Don’t Lose Sight. I do things like that occasionally when a random thought comes to mind that might serve as the basis for a future blog post. Then I let it simmer for as long as necessary until it’s fully cooked in my mind and it’s time to pull it out of the oven. This one has simmered long enough.
Below are the most viewed posts on this blog during 2012. If you missed one of them or have long since forgotten what it was about, check it out. Most are quick lessons learned of 366 words or less (the exceptions being #2 and #9 – both posts from 2011 that still were among the most viewed in 2012).
How do you stay grounded? I just conducted a Google search on “staying grounded” that returned over 4.7 million results. I suspect the phrase means wildly different things to different people, depending on the context.
Thanks to a holiday week with far fewer interruptions and meetings than normal, I got completely caught up in my email inbox at work and home today. What a wonderful, rare moment when I realized that I had no emails waiting on me in either place! Aaaahhhhhhh……… the bliss!
Since this is a holiday week in the U.S. with Independence Day on Wednesday, there is a noticeable slowdown in the number of meetings on my calendar for the week. That’s always a welcome change from the norm of way too many meetings. The same thing happens to the extreme for the week in between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
This week I tried something new in my scheduling at work. I blocked out all morning hours on my calendar between 7:30 and noon to work on major, newer initiatives. There is always a much longer list of tasks to get done than can be done, but the issue that was starting to bother me was the feeling that my days were more and more dominated by the emails, calls, messages and unplanned conversations initiated by others than they were by major accomplishments I want to achieve. The obvious problem is that allowing my schedule to be dominated by others leaves no time to get the big picture, important things done – ground that needs to be taken in order to look back at the end of the year and say “This is how I made a significant difference.”
As I reflect on this past week spent in a quiet, personal retreat at 
I forgot what day it was yesterday. The days blend one into the next so seamlessly here at 
Earlier today my colleague, John, posted the following as a Facebook status update: “One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is I will not have a conversation with you if, at the same time, you are reading your text messages and texting people. It is rude. I will politely say, ‘I’ll wait till you are done’ and attempt to make you feel as uncomfortable and awkward as possible. I don’t care who you are. You are not that important that the world will end if you are not on-line 24/7.”
