identify your tasks

Are you feeling overwhelmed by everything you "have to do" each day? Dividing your daily tasks into smaller groups may help you identify what you actually have to do and what you can eliminate from your already full plate, giving you more time to do the things you want to do!
The tasks you do each day fall into one of four categories, as follows.

1. tasks you HAVE to do and WANT to do: planting flowers, buying new furniture for a new house, meeting a friend or business partner for lunch
2. tasks you HAVE to do but DON'T WANT to do: laundry, cleaning, paying the bills
   
3. tasks you DON'T HAVE to do but WANT to do: surfing the internet, scrapbooking, watching TV
   
4. tasks you DON'T HAVE to do and DON'T WANT to do: serving on another committee, volunteering for something you used to enjoy, but don't anymore.

Tasks in group 1 are the easiest to do. We want to do them so we promptly get them done as soon as possible. Your desire to do them is incentive enough for you to get them done.

Tasks in group 2 are tasks that you will eventually complete but are often the source of much procrastination! You know that if you don't do the laundry, you will run out of clean clothes and if you don't pay the bills, your electricity or gas will shut off! These tasks require a bit of incentive do to...possibly even a reward. That way you will have something to look forward to and enjoy when these tasks are completed.

Tasks in group 3 are tasks that get done at the expense of tasks in group 2! These are the things we really want to do but don't have the time to do them...but we do them anyway because we enjoy them. These tasks would be a great reward for completing a task in group 2. That way, you will always get everything done that has to be done, and you will most likely have time left over to do the things you want to do as well.

Tasks in group 4 should be eliminated from your to-do list all together. These tasks are things we get "pressured" into doing. You may have enjoyed being president of the school board 4 years ago but you don't enjoy it now. You may have enjoyed volunteering for one charity but now have another charity that you enjoy more, but you feel bad quitting the other...so you do both! These "don't have to, don't want to" tasks are the ones that take up your precious time and can also create resentment. Make it a goal to eliminate as many of these from your life as you can.

Analyze the things you do each day and put them into one of these four categories. Consciously think about how you are spending your time to see if you could eliminate some of the "don't have to, don't want to" tasks. You will have more time...and be much happier!

For more time management tips, visit my website: www.andreadekker.com