I talked yesterday about tracking your time and why it’s important–because you can’t improve what you can’t measure.
But it’s not obvious that the converse is true: If you can measure it, does that mean you can improve it?
I think so. I’ve seen a lot of improvement in the last year and a half, although I sometimes backslide.
First let me say that I laughed at Mark’s comment about spending the whole day doing time management. I think there are some people who would cheerfully spend the whole day mucking with spreadsheets to plan their day. Not me. I spend 5 minutes every night mapping out what I want to get done the next day. Then I try hard the next day to do it. However, some days have their little crises (like yesterday and today, when I had a truly urgent task that needed doing RIGHT NOW).
Which reminds me of a comment Peg made about the Urgent crowding out the Important. Let’s talk about that for a minute.
My friend Marcia Ramsland is an organizing professional. She got me interested in internet marketing a few years ago and in selling my expertise on the internet. Marcia’s expertise is in organizing. She’s written three books on the subject, and she was in my critique group back in San Diego when she first started writing them. One of the things I learned from Marcia is that we should distinguish between “Tasks” and “Projects”.
A Task is something that you can start and finish in one sitting. It may take 2 minutes or it might take 4 hours, but you can get it all done in one go. Some examples are:
1) Washing, drying, and folding the laundry.
2) Writing the next scene of my book.
3) Going to see my accountant for the monthly accounting.
4) Painting the cat.
A Project is something that is going to take multiple days to get done. It may take a week or it may take 5 years, but it’s something where I’m going to have to break it up into chunks. Some examples are:
1) Remodeling the kitchen.
2) Doing research with my daughter as she gets ready to apply to universities next year.
3) Writing my next book.
4) Creating a new product to sell on my web site.
It should be obvious that the Tasks are the type of thing Peg was talking about when she talked about the “Urgent,” whereas the Projects are what she meant by the “Important.” Tasks typically are small jobs that need to get done “soon” and are therefore Urgent, whereas Projects are the things we really WANT to get done, but they’re so big we put them off because we prefer to get one whole Task done rather than 1% of a Project.
The trick is to turn pieces of Projects into Tasks. You’ll notice that Task #2 on my list is actually a small piece of Project #3. Writing a scene is maybe 1% or possibly 2% of writing a book. There’s no freakin’ way to write a whole book in one sitting, but it’s quite doable to write one scene in that time span. So the secret to getting important Projects done is to shave off slices of them as Tasks, and then mix them in with all those pesky urgent Tasks. So the urgent stuff gets done, but so does something important.
So when I’m making a To Do List for tomorrow, I try to put in a reasonable mix of Tasks and (small pieces of) Projects. And I also put in one thing that’s Fun. The Fun can be either a Task or a piece of a Project, but it needs to be something that’s truly fun. Some examples of Fun:
1) Watch a movie.
2) Have a cookout with the family down in the firepit by our pond.
3) Read a few chapters in a novel.
4) Work on Fun Project X. (This is a secret project right now, but it really exists, and I hope to reveal it to the world in a month or two. And it’s fun.)
I promised yesterday to tell my secret for ensuring that most days are “good days.” I’ll do that here. On any given day, I schedule myself to do a certain number of Tasks (either urgent Tasks or small chunks of an important Project), plus at least one Fun Task. A “good day” is when I get most of the Tasks done and I have some Fun.
Today, I had four Tasks to do, plus I had some Fun planned. I got three of the Tasks done, but switched one Fun thing for another. (I was planning to work on Project X, but we went down to the firepit and had a cookout instead.) So today was a “good day.” It didn’t go exactly as planned, and I didn’t get one of my Tasks done (catching up on email), but three out of four isn’t bad. And I had some Fun.
I’ll talk more tomorrow about why Fun is important. And I’ll talk about pacing and what I call the “80% solution”. See ya then!
I really like that distinction between Task and Project. Thinking about it, I realize I’ve been making that distinction automatically in the past, though not consistently. I too write down everything I do during the day in my agenda (or planner as you call it), and it has always helped me keep track of how I spend my time. It helps me focus my attention and learn from mistakes in planning or executing that plan.
Anyway, about Task and Project: this only shows how subjective the mind is and how a simple technique can turn Disorganized into Organized. Just like mnemonics, for example. Marking certain things as Tasks, instead of parts of a bigger Project, can help you motivate yourself to get it done easier.
Excellent post, Randy. Thank you for opening my eyes on that one. I’m sure it will help.
Got it.
[ ] Tylenol and coffee, breakfast of champions (urgent)
[ ] go to paying job, reposition pile of work so it looks worked on (task)
[ ] pass through my sticky, trash strewn den and resist the urge to pick up (project)
[ ] place repeated cell calls to the 3 still sleeping young men who made the mess (Fun)
[ ] take fashionable kid to register for high school under strict orders not to speak (task)
[ ] keep mouth shut when tempted to be witty while under said gag order (project)
[ ] Write, when I’m actually now expected to be fully engaged in conversation with said fashionable kid (ironic)
[ ] read e-mails and fiction-writing blog, when I should be writing (uh…)
[ ] remember last time I did something Fun with fashionable, trashy family (uh…)
[ ] spend the weekend repeating said breakfast every 4 hours as needed to work up a new 15 page chapter by chapter summary, show it to an experienced writer and get a shocking amount of positive feedback (Fun)
[ ] resume writing on novel using revised synopsis until 3 or 4am (Fun)
[ ] Tylenol and coffee, breakfast of champions
Camille, you make me laugh.
Randy, your point about planning for fun is very good. I’m a very task oriented person – fun for me is completing as many tasks as possible in a day. And I’m one of those planning freaks who would love to take all day to plan. But my family needs me to have fun with them, so planning for that is important – put I realize I never actually write that down on my multiple to do lists.
So, if there’s a task or two you don’t get done, do you just roll it over to the next day? I find I am more ambitious and end up with more tasks than I can actually finish (which means projects start lagging and here come the late nights).
I remember the delight I experienced when I read in Stephen King’s book, ON WRITING, that writers should read, read, read. I’ve always taken great delight in reading, but sometimes had to fight the phantom “guilt” thinking—knowing I should be doing other things. (And reading a book in one or two sittings does wreck a to-do list.)
But it’s fun to think of sitting in my big chair, curled up with a good (or even bad) book and telling anyone who inquires that I’m doing research!
I’ve backslidden from the actual written to-do list, but I’ve discovered that working on several tasks and projects each day results in progress in each area far more satisfactorily than trying to push through on only one.
Okay, Camille, you’re not only a poet, but a comedian as well.
Onward!!
Hi All,
Randy, good ideas, would painting a cat be a task, goal, even, fun? Maybe a some day project.
My cats would consider it pretty BIG and my first task would be to catch the two fur balls for their makeover project. I don’t think I would get much writing done after that for awhile, but on the other hand, I would have some good writing fodder.
I find if I make a list the night before or first thing in the morning, I am apt to get more accomplished. I also feel guilty when I am reading because it is so fun and enjoyable for me, yet I know that is part of this business. I can’t even have my book sitting in a place where I can see it, because I toss everything else to the wind to get into reading. However, I have found that if I reward myself with it after I have finished my list then I get more out of the study books.. I am also referring to my writing study books here. I love them as much as other stories.
My biggest problem now is that I have many emails and really I have been selective, but if I miss more than one day, it is bad because so many come down. Last night there were about 300 and it is time consuming. Sometimes, I have to skip over a lot that is probably good information. Does anyone have any suggestions of how they handle their emails?
Randy; Thanks for reminding me about time management ans separating tasks and projects. After “retiring” (HAH!)from work away from home,I detested TM projects. I did that for fifteen years.
However, it is a crucial need to accomplish what we propose to accomplish. It’s so easy to get sidetracked. How great to know you include FUN in your TM. Very important, too!
Paulette, Making a to-do list at night works well for me, also. It’s like a head start for the next day.
We have a dog, so I don’t know about painting a cat. If I painted my dog, I’d probably give her stripes, like a zebra. But I suspect painting a cat would be a project not a task and not fun. You’d probably have to re-catch her several times and tend to scratches in-between. As to handling emails, I tend to get quite a bit of spam since I have four eboxes. The first thing I do is delete all spam and all mail that I may know the sender but don’t intend to read, like some neighborhood group mail that I know from the subject aren’t important to me. Once that’s done, I open the ones I know I want to read and respond to. Then I move on to senders I recognize but aren’t on the top of my importance list, and then move on down the line. If it takes a while to read them all, I may close out and come back at a later time. If I open one, then decide to wait to respond, I mark it so I won’t forget about it. Taking care of email can take up a chunk of your day if you’re not careful.
Great comments, Randy, and thanks for helping me see where I can improve on my prioritizing. I do make little lists in my Day Timer and tick them off as they get completed. And, as Lynette queried, I DO roll them over to the next day.
But I’ve not gone so far as to make a task/project list such as you outlined.
But, I guess it’s something I need to teach myself to do. I’m one of those “old dogs” learning “new tricks.”
Just hope I don’t hurt myself!
I love the distinction between task and project. My problem is having enough clear-headedness after a day of teaching to figure out what the tasks ARE. I will chew on that.
And I love the permission to have fun and to READ. I am good at the reading part, but really have to work at the fun part. But once I’m in the thick of fun, I’m glad I participated. You could call me a stick in the mud. If I thought I could get away with it, I’d gladly be a hermit!
OK, Mr. Sneaky Pants…
I think you should call Project X just that. What a great title!
Mary E. DeMuth
BTW, I had the pleasure of meeting Marcia, as I mentioned to you. She’s the real thing, folks!
Randy,
I love your blog, it has so much good information. When are we going to get to do our one line summaries again?
Nancy
How timely this blog is, I was agonizing today that there are too many things to do in a day. How am I going to write my book, build a website for future book, market research, write a proposal, research for my book, laundry, grocery shopping, have a clean house, and do the million other things that I can’t say no to. A quandary I feared had no solution. But I love your commitment to do something fun. Sometimes I fear there is no time in this world for fun. Thanks Randy for helping me focus on the little pieces that make up a good day.
Painting a cat could possibly be painful, and you might even end up with an unplanned trip to the emergency room (such a time waster). I think I would go for the “quick dip” method. Get a big bucket of paint and toss the cat in from a distance.