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The goal for this series of posts is to give you an opportunity to reconsider the traditional “to do” list in place for some actions that may help you be more productive. For this specific post to make sense, be sure to read the context in yesterday’s post.


Here are the five strategic steps that help me become more time effective and productive. Here they are:

1. I determine my roles
2. I list my weekly goals under my roles
3. I project a time for each goal
4. I block out my meetings and/or programs
5. I assign a time slot for each of my goals

1. I determine my roles (see yesterday’s post)

2. I list my weekly goals under my roles
Time is the great reality inducer. Since time is limited every week, it’s obvious that everything can’t be accomplished. This is where it becomes important to prioritize what is most important to accomplish during the week. Since I’ve already identified my five primary roles (see yesterday), I use those five roles/headings to collect everything that needs to be done (imagine it as a “master to-do” list where I gather everything that needs to be done). I don’t prioritize them when I write them down (on the “master to do” form), I just make a quick discernment where to place it (either under pastor, teacher, leader, administrator, or developer). Then, on Sunday night or Monday morning (when I plan out my week) I simply pick a few of the items from the list (the most important ones) and put them under my roles for the week (this will make more sense when you see my form tomorrow).

3. I project a time for each goal
Once I write my goals under the roles I’ll quickly add a time number to each one (i.e. 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, etc…). I’m definitely just going with my gut and guessing a realistic time. I’ve learned it’s best to overestimate since my projects/tasks usually take me longer than I think they will. By giving it a time allotment I can best place it as an “appointment” on my calendar.

4. I block out my meetings and/or programs
Before I put any of my goals on my weekly calendar I make sure that I’ve got all my scheduled meetings and/or programs (including personal/family commitments) already blocked out. Those blocks of time are obviously not going to allow me to accomplish any of my goals, so I take those time blocks off the table. After I do this, it’s amazing how full the week already looks.

5. I assign a time slot for each of my goals
This is the last step I take in this calendar/time-management process. I know what I need to get done during the week, I know how much time is available during my week, and I begin assigning the goals to open time-slots.

By going thru this process, I assure that I make time for my top priorities and do so within a realistic time frame. These steps allow me to control my time and not be at the mercy of what everyone else wants to do.

Tomorrow (if I can figure it out), I’ll present screen shots of the actual steps on my calendar, I’ll let you download the spreadsheet I use, and I’ll answer specific questions that you may have (I’m sure this is a little confusing).

So, what doesn’t make sense? What are your questions?

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