I'm off. Don't stay too late.
I've got at least two hours more to get this report done.
Liz wants it on her desk by 8:00 AM.
What's your secret, John? You have so much going on, but you're always done by five.
Well, it's all about prioritization. I simply look at what needs to get done first and I tackle that.
Well, I thought I did that too. Do you have any advice?
Let's take a look at how you spent your day.
I have this report for Liz that's due in the morning. Then Bob stopped by to go over the budget estimate for next week staff meeting.
That took way longer than I expected.
Was that meeting on your calendar?
No, he just stopped by.
I see. What else did you do? Let's see. I spent some time reviewing next
month's product brochure. Then I set up a meeting to plan next month's conference
presentation. Then I did some research on
our competitors new products. Why you working on
Liz's report right now? I started it right after
my meeting with Bob. He's taking the
next two days off. So he won't be working on the
budget until he gets back? That's right. The key is prioritizing
your tasks. The stuff you need to finish
first gets finished on time and then you can move
on to less urgent tasks. I would have done Liz's report before any of the other items. I would have politely ask
Bob to come back later. He understands prioritization. All the other things
you mentioned, weren't really that urgent. They're all important, but you don't need to finish them today. I think I get it. Next time I have something due
the following day, I'll focus on that first and keep in mind when I need
to have things done, as well as when I need
to get things done.