IBM e-learning : Analyze Your Use of Time (Getting Organized – “To Do” List)

Want make the best use of your time? This topic introduces you to the skills required to make effective use of your time.

Steve Job once said, “You can not mandate productivity. You must provide the tools to let people become their best”. The “To Do” list is an effective tool to help you make the maximum use of your time.
 

A “To Do” list is a running, scratch-and-carry list of projects, tasks, and activities that may one day accomplished depending on their priority.
 

Karen works in the personnel department of a software company. She has a number of tasks to perform. Although she tried hard to do everything, she is unable to complete all the tasks. Her boss, Andrew, suggests that she maintain a “To Do” list that will help her get organized. How will a “To Do” list help her get better organized? Select all that apply:

l         She won’t to work harder.

l         She won’t to work at all.

l         She will be able to do everything.

l         She will focus on the important items.

 

First of all, accept the premise that not everything is doable. The key is to get right things done.

 

Initially, you can enter all items that have to be done in “To Do” list. But don’t worry about getting everything done. Focus on the most important and urgent items.

When the items in “To Do” list reach a high degree importance, they should be moved to a Daily Plan and crossed off the list.

The Daily Plan tracks those items until they are accomplished.

 

A Daily Plan is a prioritized list of activities and tasks that have to be accomplished.  The Daily Plan brings together all the tools, mechanisms, concepts, principles and ideas that needed to get organized.

 

A Daily Plan is different from “To Do” list. Click on the picture below to see how a Daily Plan differs from a “To Do” list.

A “To Do” list focus on the goals to be achieved over a period of time.

A Daily Plan focuses on the achievement of goals, so the plan is daily.

 

What are the items can be included to the “To Do” list.

l         Monthly project

l         Daily task

l         The name of your favorite author.

l         Household activities

l         Extra-curricular activities.

 

“To Do” lists are meant to be messy. Don’t waste time rewriting “To Do” list. After all they are “scratch and carry” list.

 

The “To Do” lists are made up with three columns:

l         description

l         important and urgent priority

l         pure time estimate

 

The first column is the description column. It contains a short description of task whose priority may warrant allocation of time to accomplish them.

 

The central column is the “urgent/important priority”. It contains the priority numbers coded one through four on the base of importance and urgency. The first has the topmost priority and the forth, the least priority.

 

The right-hand column is “pure time estimate”. The “pure time estimate” is the time required to execute the task without any interruptions.

 

Bob sets aside thirty minutes to type out the daily report the boss needs. But he is constantly interrupted by colleagues or phone calls. So the task which should take him half an hour takes him an hour to complete.

In the “pure time estimate” of his “To Do” list, how much time should he delegate to this task.

1.       Half an hour, that is the time taken to execute task.

2.       An hour, as it is the actual time taken to complete task when interruption time is included.

 

Pure time estimate is an innovation approach to your scheduling yourself realistically. Interruption by customers, system-imposed activities, and crisis issues make up the uncontrollable time, as that time is not available to work on things in “To Do” list. Subtract this amount of time from workday you will get pure controllable time. It is this amount of time that is actually available to accomplish items from “To Do” list.

 

What are the key components of “To Do” list:

1.       pure time estimate

2.       description of task to be accomplished

3.       code of urgent and important priority

4.       real time estimate

A “To Do” list is a simple but extremely powerful method of organizing yourself and reducing stress. It also motivates you to achieve what needs to be achieved efficiently.

Use the “To Do” list consisting of description, code of urgency/importance priority, and pure time estimate, to be more productive.