Numbered Priority
Tactic
Heres one of the
most powerful techniques that you can use to manage your time
efficiently the Numbered Priority Tactic.
Buy a very small notebook that you can put in your
pocket. You should be able to bring it anywhere you go. At the
front page of the notebook, put the title: Important and Urgent.
At the back page, put the title: Important but Not Urgent.
If an idea or event you encounter is Urgent but
Not Important, then forget it. You want to utilize your time well,
wont you? If you think its significant in some way, then you may
put it under Important and Urgent. Ignore Not Important and
Not Urgent tasks.
Every time something comes up during your daily
work or on your mind, put it in the appropriate page of your little
notebook. So lets say your boss told you to submit a report due
tomorrow. Write it down on your notebook under Important and
Urgent. Then your friend told you that theres a big 2-day sale at
the downtown furniture store. You may put it under Important and
Urgent if you simply must have that furniture youre drooling
for months. But if you think your house would do fine without it,
then dont write it anymore. As youre walking down the street you
suddenly thought of a great new idea for your part-time business.
You may put it under Important but Not Urgent.
As the day goes on, write down each and every idea,
thought, or event that comes to your mind. As the list increases in
each category, examine each of them carefully and start numbering
each item in the order of priority - with 1 being the highest
priority. Start working on Number 1, and never go to Number 2 until
youre done with Number 1 for each category. If distractions come
about, you may take care of them first but always come back to your
numbered list when youre done.
Because priorities may change, you may switch or
change the numbers of the items in the list. You may also transfer
one item from Important and Urgent to Important but Not
Urgent, and vice-versa. When you do any changes, make sure your
notebook stays clean. Transfer your writings to a new page when you
see that its getting untidy. Start off with a new page every
day.
This method can enable you to achieve more in one
week than what most people can accomplish in a month. The important
thing you must do is to buy that little notebook and to start doing
this super tactic right now! Time is running
fast. | 
