Yesterday started with the best of intentions. I walked

into my office in the morning with a vague sense of

what I wanted to accomplish. Then I sat down, turned

on my computer, and checked my email. Two hours

later, after fighting several fires, solving other people’s

problems, and dealing with whatever happened to be

thrown at me through my computer and phone, I could

hardly remember what I had set out to accomplish when

I first turned on my computer. I’d been ambushed. And

I know better.

That means we start every day knowing we’re not going

to get it all done. So how we spend our time is a key

strategic decision. That’s why it’s a good idea to create

a to do list and an ignore list. The hardest attention to

focus is our own.

But even with those lists, the challenge, as always, is

execution. How can you stick to a plan when so many

things threaten to derail it?

Managing our time needs to become a ritual too. Not

simply a list or a vague sense of our priorities. That’s

not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing

process we follow no matter what to keep us focused

on our priorities throughout the day.

I think we can do it in three steps that take less than

minutes over an eight-hour workday.

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Before turning on your computer,

sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what

will make this day highly successful. What can you

realistically carry out that will further your goals and

allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like

you’ve been productive and successful? Write those

things down.

Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule

those things into time slots, placing the hardest and

most important items at the beginning of the day. And

by the beginning of the day I mean, if possible, before

even checking your email. There is tremendous power

in deciding when and where you are going to do

something.

If you want to get something done, decide when and

where you’re going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your

list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Set your watch, phone,

or computer to ring every hour. When it rings, take a

deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you

spent your last hour productively. Then look at your

calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are

going to use the next hour.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Shut off your computer and review

your day. What worked? Where did you focus? Where

did you get distracted?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the

same thing in the same way over and over again. And

so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you

choose your focus deliberately and wisely, and

consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay

focused. It’s simple.

This particular ritual may not help you swim the English

Channel. But it may just help you leave the office feeling

productive and successful.

And, at the end of the day, isn’t that a higher priority?

Extracted from: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/07/an-18minute-plan-for-managing.html