2 minutes each week to help you execute on your goals
from Jean Moroney
Issue #67
I. Three Bad Arguments for Not Prioritizing
II. Smarter Prioritization Teleclass January 27
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
One session: 2:00 p.m. ET
III. Recent Posts on the Blog
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I. Three Bad Arguments for Not Prioritizing
Time-management 101 says: prioritize your time. Spend it where it’s important. But do you take the time to prioritize each day? Here are three reasons you may be tempted to dive into action without choosing first, and why that’s a mistake:
“I already know what’s most important.” You have one major goal. Why should you stop to prioritize? Because your top priority right at this moment is not necessarily your top goal. A “priority” is the thing you do first—prior to the other things on the list. Take two minutes each morning to decide the order of work for the day, to make sure the urgent and the important get done.
“I don’t have time to prioritize.” Your hair is on fire. Work is coming at you from all directions. Stopping for a moment to do anything extra feels like a waste of time. It isn’t. When you are most pressed for time, prioritizing is more important, not less. It needn’t take long. Just make a list of the things you need to do, and label items numbers 1, 2, and 3. (Don’t worry about the rest now.) The top priorities stand out when you’re pressured. Taking two minutes to make sure you do them in the correct order saves wasted time later.
“I don’t need to prioritize because I have to do it all anyway.” This is a prescription for needing overtime. It’s always worth checking to see what needs to be done sooner rather than later, to identify at least an approximate order. When you get the most important tasks done first, at the end of the day there are only relatively unimportant tasks on the agenda. If you need to, you can go home.
Getting clear on your priorities once a day makes the difference in whether you have time to achieve them.
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II. Smarter Prioritization Teleclass January 27
Join me on Tuesday, January 27, when I will be giving a teleclass on “Smarter Prioritization” for ExpertVATraining.com. They are generously making this open to the public.
There’s too much to do, new tasks keep showing up, and there never seems to be time enough to do the things you most care about. The only way to make time for what’s important is to prioritize, but that creates its own challenges. How do you set priorities when the work is overwhelming? How do you follow through when the unexpected happens? Join Kathy Goughenour, founder of ExperVATraining and her guest, Jean Moroney as we discuss “Smarter Prioritization.
About Jean Moroney: Ms. Moroney, President of Thinking Directions, teaches managers, small business owners, and other professionals how to be smarter as they execute on their goals by catching problems early, grasping issues quickly, and taking action decisively. Ms. Moroney received a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT, and worked as a system engineer, project manager, and software consultant for 10 years. She has an MS in Psychology from Carnegie-Mellon, and has been coaching and speaking on thinking skills since 1998. She has given her all- day flagship course, “Thinking Tactics” all over North America. Her corporate clients include Microsoft, Amazon.com, BB&T, and Canadian Bank Note Company. Thousands of people have benefited from her methods. Find out more at http://www.thinkingdirections.com and sign up for her freebie class: Jump Start Your Project: http://www.thinkingdirections.com/jumpstart.htm.
Maralyn Dennis Hill, The Epicurean Explorer, is President Emeritus of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association and Executive Editor for LuxeBeatMag. She is also a member of SATW and SPJ. She contributes to numerous publications.
The majority of Maralyn’s articles are now geared to the luxury market, spas, corporate retreats, business events, and culinary tourism, from simple to gourmet.
Maralyn’s description of herself: I was born to travel and tell the tale. I’m energized by different cultures in every aspect of their lives, from food, wine, and destination, to how they conduct business. Travel represents a continual geography lesson.
This year’s winner was nominated for the award an impressive eight times and praised for her encyclopedic knowledge, intelligence, curiosity, and diligence.
This year’s top honor goes to a 128-year-old store that is beloved by its community, plays host to vibrant literary events for authors large and small, and serves as an anchor business for the Village of La Jolla, Calif.
