Close your door. Turn off your computer monitor. Sit quietly and look out the window. Now – ask yourself the following question: "How much time do I spend on the wrong things each day?"
Don’t bullshit yourself. Answer it as honestly as you can. 5 minutes? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 60 minutes? 2 hours? 4 hours? More?
Now, turn on your computer monitor. Scan your inbox, even if it’s 4,137 messages (aha – I see you aren’t a zero inbox person of a GTD guy.) Bring up the weekly view on your calendar and look at it. Look at your todo list (if you have one).
Turn off your computer. Answer the question again.
Are you spending your time on the wrong things?
someone should step in with the advice to hire virtual assistant or something
broadly looking – this is a nice thought…
Comment by Peter Melnikov — December 20, 2008 @ 10:25 am
Great post Brad. This has become kind of a hobby of mine… helping people discover this exact thing in their lives. Another thing I have some experience with is getting out of debt. The big challenge is trying to help people change their habits… because that's really all it is. Change your habits, change your life.
Comment by msitarzewski — December 21, 2008 @ 8:41 am
I once heard that the founder of Ikea divides his day into 15 minute increments and strives to waste as few as possible. I like that idea (though I waste more than a few every day) because it helps turn the amorphous idea of "efficiency" into specific set of tasks and milestones.
Comment by Jay Parkhill — December 21, 2008 @ 9:11 am