Complete this sentence:
"When I hear the word time management, I _____."
Whether you wrote, "Reach for my calendar, Palm Pilot, DayTimer," or "Clap my hands over my ears," "Take a Xanax," or "Scream," here are three techniques that might help you better control your time and stories. Below each is a comment from a Poynter Reporting and Writing Fellow who experimented with the techniques.
(For more on time management, see my centerpiece article, "Making Friends with a Clock")
1. Know tomorrow’s task today.
This is the technique that makes my friend and mentor, Don Murray, one of the most productive writers I know. Perhaps the subconscious takes over when you assign yourself a task the night before.
User's comment: "What surprised me is how much I feel better knowing that I know what I will be doing tomorrow. I’m the type of person who needs to write down everything or I’ll forget it. I find it reassuring and calming. It puts me in control and gives me a sense of order. I’m not as scatter-brained trying to remember everything at once."
--Jane Kim
2. Follow productivity expert David Allen’s two-minute rule: If you think a task will take you two minutes or less, do it now.
User's comment: "What surprised me was how much I could get done in tiny chunks --maybe it wasn't so much the sheer amount of work as finding mental space to tackle it."
--Ellen Sung
3. Eliminate piles. Instead of letting paper stack up on your desk, either put it in folders or toss it.
User's comment: "I learned that it is a lot quicker to find things when you don't have to shuffle through 50 pages of other unrelated issues. I learned that filing is a good thing to combat the urge to pile things up. I had to do something with the papers, and filing was a good physical way of keeping from falling back into the bad habit."
--Preston Smith
Have you got a time management technique that works for you? Let me know at chipscan@poynter.org. I'll add it to the list.
