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| Generated using Microsoft Designer (first attempt only) |
On my better days, I return to the same task during every gap between meetings until that task is fully completed. It's like meditation: If you get distracted, find your breath again.
It sounds simple.
- Prioritize a list of things to do.
- Work on the just top item (as time allows) until it is complete.
- Move on to the next item.
However, in my experience, it's difficult to be that disciplined. I wrote about prioritizing a while ago, but even the "random" approach in that post is optimistic for most people (me included) because they jump around between tasks, trying to move many efforts forward at the same time. It's hard to say "no" to things you want to do, and it's hard to tell people that you have not touched or really even thought about their project for several days.
What do I accomplish during that kind of scattered week? I "worked on" various things -- the least helpful of all status updates -- and I'll continue "working on" the same things the following week. I felt the stress of having a lot of open items that were all partially complete, with no value created. I also missed the sense of accomplishment of having finished something and been able to move on.
The alternative, disciplined week entails completing important things and the satisfaction that comes along with it. Another side effect I have noticed is that I subconsciously synthesize what's next on my list while I am holding off on doing it. Then, once I start, that simmering enables me to make even quicker work of it.
Imagine the effect of doing that over a period of months or years.