Cathy Liska Nozomi Michiki Morgan
Career & Life Coaching | Personal Branding | Global Communication Intelligence
michikimorgan.com
As mentioned in the first blog, the key to productive time management is clarity. I call my system for clarity my personal assistant. It keeps me focused and on track at any point of my day. I check off items (which is fun to do!) and get things done. Let me walk you through how to plan your week with clarity.
Step 1: Clarify what is on your mind.
Ask yourself “What is on my mind now?” Brainstorm and let out everything that is on your mind onto paper; the to-dos, the want-to-dos, the need-to-dos, the don’t-want-to-do-but-have-to-dos.
Step 2: Clarify what the items and tasks mean to you.
Look at your list of items and define each item by assigning each to a group. Our mind likes clear definitions. Here are the five groups.
Fast Impact – Items that will impact your business immediately and will bring in quick revenue.
Long Term Impact – Items that will benefit the long term growth for your business.
Needs To Be Done No Matter What – Items that just need to be done like it or not. A good example is paying bills. Decisions that need to be made in order to move forward will fall in here.
Timer Wasters – Items that don’t do any good but waste time. TV is at the top of mine.
Good for Me – You need to give yourself love and take care of yourself. This group would include relaxing time at the spa, mani & pedi, things that keeps your mind and body happy.
Step 3: Clarify which task belongs to which group.
Assign a color to each group. Choose any color that works for you. Then draw a horizontal and vertical line that crosses in the middle of each to create four quadrants. Then draw a circle in the middle where the two lines cross. Put each group into the quadrants.
Upper left quadrant – Fast Impact
Upper right quadrant – Long Term Impact
Lower left quadrant – Needs to Be Done No Matter What
Lower right quadrant – Time Wasters
Middle circle – Good for Me
In the next blog I will give you the action for following through on your clarity.
