Comments on: Do you do your most important work first?

By: Reduce Work Stress: Do Your Most Important Work First | Life Compass Blog

Reduce Work Stress: Do Your Most Important Work First | Life Compass Blog — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:53:47 +0000

[...] Unclutterer shared this tip recently: Do your most important work first, at the beginning of your day. That way, you ensure that you do your best and most important work when you are at your best, and before you get bogged down by other distractions that may come your way later in the day. [...]

By: Pay Yourself First, In Hours & Minutes « Conscious Me

Pay Yourself First, In Hours & Minutes « Conscious Me — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:32:07 +0000

[...] worrying unproductively about finances and doubting myself in regards to my goals. Thankfully Do You Do Your Most Important Work First, a blog on Unclutterer, reminded me how smoothly things were going when I was following this [...]

By: nXqd

nXqd — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:30:34 +0000

I’ve tried to do the MIT first but when I stay at my computer I just do a lots of small tasks and it keeps me away from my MIT task.
I really love the way you put the task in center of desktop. For me, the best way to keep track meeting, task is put all of them on your desktop. I use Rainlendar now, but I wish something which can increase Rainlendar font

By: Sandbox » Blog Archive » Weekly inspiration #16: Have more fun at work

Sandbox » Blog Archive » Weekly inspiration #16: Have more fun at work — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:01:20 +0000

[...] it helps to get the most important work of the day done first. After that, you can think about creative ways to solve problems – like the “invisible [...]

By: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Next Project Edition | Frugal Living News

The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Next Project Edition | Frugal Living News — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:50:03 +0000

[...] Do you do your most important work first? I used to have a very organized morning routine, where I would do most of my “routine” tasks before starting the day. What I found is that I got my “routine” tasks done, but most of the real meat of my work – the creative tasks – didn’t go nearly as well. (@ unclutterer) [...]

By: Surfin’ the Net: The Swine Flu Edition | Organizing Your Way

Surfin’ the Net: The Swine Flu Edition | Organizing Your Way — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:51:23 +0000

[...] Do you do your most important work first?, [...]

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:49:41 +0000

Given that all my work comes through email, yes, I check that first as well as deal with all my client-related work. That I get done by 8am, then exercise then take off to the library to do all my writing. By noon I’m done all the things I *have* to do for the day and if I don’t have other things planned, then I spend a few hours in the afternoon on marketing related stuff.

Being a morning person, this particularly works for me.

By: The Simple Dollar » The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Next Project Edition

The Simple Dollar » The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Next Project Edition — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:01:18 +0000

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:26:10 +0000

Also a night owl, so anything important is scheduled around dinner time or later. My brain refuses to function until the sun sets.

Unsurprisingly, I continue to search for a way to make a living that would allow me to work at home and design my own schedule.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:49:07 +0000

I have amazed the administrators in the school district where I work by announcing that I do NOT check email first thing in the morning. Oh the gasps! I start my day by reviewing my schedule, checking on my staff, and doing the work I have that requires real thinking – not just managing information (like email does). I’m most creative first thing in the morning so I take advantage of that time. When I feel the creative juices drying up, I’ll get a cup of coffee and listen to phone messages. Somewhere around 9:30 I’ll check my email. This is a BIG deal for a lot of people – I work in the technology department of a large school district. I remind people that if they have an “urgent” message, they should call me. I handle phone calls before email.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:50:00 +0000

A few years back I suffered from an intermittent internet connection which forced me to prioritize my work in order that I got done what was needed on the internet first and then had other work left which wasn’t so internet critical. I still have the same routine now despite having a far more reliable internet connection. So my most important jobs I do are always those which require the internet and then these are followed up by ones which just require the pc as a stand alone machine.

By: Another Deb

Another Deb — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:10:06 +0000

I am knackered by the time I have spent ten hours at school, so I try to do some brain-easy tasks at the desk at night, check e-mails, gather resources, do laundry and attempt to set myself up for the next morning. I wake at 4 AM and work on the lesson for that day, record grades, get lunches made, shower and read Unclutterer
. By 6:20 I am out the door and headed down the highway! I generally have a list in my hand for several tasks that have to be done before the first bell rings, since there is no break until after five classes and lunch tutorials. Luckily I have a strong bladder!

I am deadline driven. We receive e-mails all day long from other teachers, administrators, departmental people, who forget that we are in front of 35 or so lively kids each class and are juggling attendance programs, detention programs, e-mail demands and the lesson technology. I feel like an air traffic controller!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:08:53 +0000

I always keep a current to-do list on my desk. I have my top three or four tasks starred, as a reminder to start with those. But when I sit down at the beginning of the day, I do take a half-hour or so to scan my emails and respond to anything pressing. (If I don’t, I usually get a phone call from someone wanting to follow up on an email, which just slows me down further. It’s also why I keep an eye on my email all day, even though I know that switching over to email slows me down.)

At the end of the day, I rewrite my to-do list in order of oldest to newest tasks. I once again star the most important items, so that the next day I am ready to go. I like keeping the list in chronological order, so that once I am past my priority tasks I know which ones have been sitting on my desk the longest.

By: adora

adora — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:26 +0000

After reading “A man’s search for meaning”, I now try to do the most unpleasant tasks first.

By: sue

sue — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:30:36 +0000

I front load my week, and each day. I have one quiet hour between arrival and when the phone starts to ring.

Sometimes, tho, an email or a phone call unravels everything or creates a Domino effect of changes. Those days are pile-it-up-and-start-at-the-top days.

I am called the checklist person in the office, because I have created checklists for all the detailed stuff, some of which we only do once a year, or upon significant occasions.

By: Christine Simiriglia

Christine Simiriglia — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:59:02 +0000

I find that planning my day out, first thing, is what helps me most. Doing the important “stuff” comes a little later. I’m not a morning person and tend to do my better work in the late morning, early afternoon. For me… scheduling my most important tasks in at peak work times is best. You can read more about how I schedule at http://www.organize-more-stres.....racle.html

By: Mary Anne

Mary Anne — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:17:36 +0000

I am not a morning person, either, so I do warm-ups until my brain is online and then tackle something important. It’s not only mornings, though, that interfere with my concentration, and I have learned that putting something off is better than trying to do it when I can only do it badly.

By: Gina

Gina — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:42:33 +0000

I don’t really have a lot of choice. I am scheduled into a whole host of meetings every workday morning that I have to attend or else I’m in trouble (albeit that only one of them, from 10-10:30, is actually worth my time). But no matter that it’s inefficient. I’m expected to be in these meetings that stretch between 8 or 9 am (depending on the day) until 11 am or noon. Daily.

So, the job pays the same regardless of if we’re being efficient or wasting time in meetings, and since the meetings have been clearly identified as more important to upper management I do it.

Then I guard my afternoon ferociously and try to cram in everything that needs doing. I try to take an hour for lunch after the last of the morning meetings (sometimes only getting 30-45 minutes. Also, I insist on leaving for the day no later than 5:30 — hopefully with everything done. If not, well I’ll try to get it done the next day. I refuse to put in heroic hours since my company insists I waste much of my morning.

My evenings are devoted to planning my escape from this job.

By: infmom

infmom — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:25:19 +0000

It really depends on what I have to get done that day. Some things really do need to be done first, but most of my days, since I am not a morning person, I do the relatively unimportant stuff first (email, forums and so forth) till my brain’s waked up enough to tackle the things that require me to use it.

Our internet connection isn’t as flaky as it used to be (I finally connected with someone at Charter who was able to figure out what the problem was and not blame it on my equipment, yay!) but in days gone by when the connection was out, I always had other things I could get done. I still do. I make myself walk away from the computer completely during the day to make sure I don’t just start clicking on stuff to avoid getting anything else done.

By: Mletta

Mletta — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:09:54 +0000

No matter how I schedule my day, life interrupts. I have a home office, which seems great except that I live in a NYC apartment building that has had numerous work being done that required access to all of our apartments–with no prior notice. (13 months, just finishing up)

Try scheduling a client call when someone is ringing and pounding on your door demanding access. Or in the hallway with jackhammers. Or having a delivery person ringing the bell, and you must answer or risk losing a delivery.

Not only that, but for whatever reason, if you work from home, friends and business associates seem to think you are/or should be available 24/7. (Ignore a call and you get an email saying: Why aren’t you at your desk? Seriously.) Text messages and IMs are always issues and again, because they involve clients, you are expected to instantaneously drop whatever and respond.

Sometimes taking an interruption and dealing with it as it occurs is the best way.

I’d love to do a lot of my work at the end of the day and into the night, but that doesn’t work if I need to call and interview people, etc. or get information.

I block out my time, but sometimes things shift because I’m not feeling well or simply cannot concentrate due to fatigue.

For me, the thing is to do the work when I am most mentally alert. And to forestall interruptions when possible. Sometimes, with clients, that’s just not possible.

In the end, deadlines dictate everything (when and if I eat, etc.). You learn to go with the flow and to realize that no matter how well you plan, trees will fall, broadband will go out and some vendor will fail to deliver and your schedule will need the Plan B thru maybe Z version.

FYI: Depending on where you live, if your broadband goes out (really as bad as losing electricity or gas), you have to just head for the nearest place with wifi (free or otherwise). I’ve done that around the U.S. when the hotel WiFi wasn’t working. (hotel wifi! Ah, the stories.)

The numerous methods of communication today actually eat into work time. Before, you got one call. Now you get emails, voice mails on two phones (cell, office), plus text and IMs for the SAME THING. It’s a waste to have to go through all of that.

We need to Unclutter our communications methods.

That would really help me get my work done.