3 Ways to Get Things Done Effectively in Today's Social Info-Crowded World

Today, you are faced with a mad flurry of messages flying at you - memos in mails, urgent requests pinging you via sms or IM chats, SOS phone calls, people coming round your desks and not to mention the numerous meetings - internal, external facing which you need to attend.  And then with looming deadlines to meet, there is that the age-old cry for help - where is that extra hour in the day?!!

Sound familiar?

I am all for the quality in time and trying to get on that balance of work and life.  Here are 3 ways I use to focus and align my activities to ensure I get maximum impact in what I do.

1. Move the BIG ROCKS

I look to prioritize my daily activities in the following pegging order:

• The Big Rocks: Key Deliverables which deliver huge benefits near term of mid term
• The Stones: Medium term deliverables, medium term impact.
• The Small Pebbles: The never-ending requests trying to grab your attention, which could be folded into Stones or Big Rocks (re-delegated or even ignored)

Early morning reminder for me: "What are the 3 Big Rocks I need to move today?"
This sets the course for my day.

2. Engage (Face to Face or Call) to Get Things Done

Context tend to get lost in the words of your emails, your smses. I find getting into a call or even better a face to face quick meet up, actually works better - especially in the face of critical issues, the BIG ROCKS.  Do not get me wrong - emails are great communication tools ... to augment your message with the details.


3. Create Your White Space to Do Your Work

With many meetings, numerous teleconferences, webinars clogging up your calendars, it is growingly importantly to put aside your own white space - your own time when you could take a step back, think through and do your work.

The above are what I use currently to make things work out for me. Are these helpful to you? I would really love to hear from you on how you work out your days, and what are your best practices and tools you use to make you successful in achieving what you set out to do in today's social info-crowded world.


See you soon,
Nelson Wee
@nelsonwee
credits: really nice photos from freephoto.com