Organizing time is exactly like organizing a closet: there's only so much room for things to fit comfortably and you only need three to six categories.Julie provides the following seven tools:
Tool One
Self-Assessment (be specific in precisely what is out of balance)
Tool Two
Ask "How long will this take?" for each task. Don't just enter a task on your To-Do list, block out the amount of time that task will realistically take.
Tool Three
Apply the "Four D's":
- Delete
- Delay
- Diminsh (Julie suggests we learn the art of "selective perfectionism" where we get okay with a "down and dirty" job on 80% of what we do and really go for perfection on the 20% of tasks that really matter)
- Delegate
Tool Four
Develop a Big Picture View
- Simplify life categories (Note: Covey calls these "roles") down to three to five
- Create a few goals for each category
- Plug in the necessary activities to accomplish each goal into your schedule
Tool Five
Create a Time Map/Weekly Plan (either horizontal [traditional] or vertical [with a different emphasis for each day]).
Tool Six
Apply the SPACE formula:
- S - Sort (put incoming items into their appropriate life categories)
- P - Purge (learn to say, "no," delegate)
- A - Assign a home for everything (Julie does not like master task lists. She suggests putting each task on the date and time when you intend to do it)
- C - Containerize
- E - Equalize
This works for both organizing a physical space and organizing time (Julie's key insight, in my opinion). With time,
Tool Seven
Choose just one planner/device. She suggests what she calls "visual/tactile" people use a paper planner and "linear/digital" people use an electronic version.
