Comments on: Workload Triage

By: Yellob

Yellob — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:42:56 +0000

Great Stuff!…. However I am sure most of people can't distinguish between "Important but now Urgent" and "Urgent but not Important". May be you can give me more details as how you categories them.

By: cjw

cjw — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:41:13 +0000

Getting things done is a great concept. It's how I discovered Outlook Track-It. Google it! It's a program/plugin for outlook that lets you flag emails for followup reminders.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:57:47 +0000

I have just finished reading “The Ultimate Sales Machine” by Chet Holmes, Michael Gerber, and Jay Conrad Levinson (which is strange because I’m a software developer.) The best tip I got from this book is to take your daily to-do list a step further from prioritizing by scheduling (and applying a deadline to) each task. I couldn’t believe I have never thought of that – I just work on the first item until it is done and then proceed to the next. Much of my work is open-ended meaning I can devote more and more time trying to make the finished product better and better. Having my tasks scheduled helps me pick up the pace and strike a better balance between working quickly and working well.

By: Scott Winter

Scott Winter — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:15:34 +0000

To Andrea -

Franklin Covey has an Outlook plug-in called PlanPLus for Outlook. It is invaluable to anyone who uses their methodology, and for prioritizing their tasks like Mike suggests. One of the best features is a “PlanPlus Home” screen that shows you everything in one view – Prioritized Daily Task List, Calendar, and email.

You can download a free trial at http://www.franklincovey.com.

Hope it helps.

By: Todd O

Todd O — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:36:12 +0000

This is a great reminder to prioritize what we are doing with our time. Too many times I find myself doing the things that are neither important nor urgent just because I enjoy doing them.

I also love the priorities that Gordon suggested, easy to remember and very useful!

By: Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:15:11 +0000

Andrea,

Actually, I am using Entourage, which is the Microsoft version of Outlook for the Mac. I use the priority field. It has five settings from “lowest” priority to “highest.” I use the top four to correspond to A, B, C, D.

I set these in my daily preparation.

Thanks,

Mike

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 24 May 2007 09:39:16 +0000

One “techinical” question…
Reading your blog, I see you are using Outlook. So, how do you assign A,B,C,D to tasks?
In addition, considering GTD methodology, when do you assign A,B,CD to tasks? Processing your inbox or doing your weekly review?
Thanks,
Andrea (Andrew) from Italy

By: GordonG

GordonG — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:31:20 +0000

I have tried prioritizing by A,B,C,D and found the best way to think about these categories is:
A = Absolutely MUST be done today
B = Best if done today
C = Could well be done today
D = Doesn’t have to be today, but must be done soon.
E = Eventually
F = Forget it!

Gordon

By: Dave Anthold

Dave Anthold — Thu, 24 May 2007 02:31:43 +0000

I usually try and put my tasks for the next day down on my to-do list before I exit for the day, but it doesn’t always happen that way. I try and leave some flex time in my schedule to account for the “unexpected” which often times occurs more often than I would like to admit.

By: John Taylor

John Taylor — Thu, 24 May 2007 01:40:22 +0000

Thanks Michael,

I really needed to read your post today.

This has been a month when more has come my way than I can possibly do, and sometimes its difficult to tell those around you no.

You’ve reinvigorated my day, and strengthened my commitment to review my priorities.