Very few leaders and managers work from a list. In fact over 80 percent do not have an updated disciplined approach to daily management. This is the primary reason so many of you say you are “too busy.” We have not seen one case in the last 20 years where a manager that was utilizing a calendar, a task list and a ranked daily “To Do” list, ever said they were “too busy.” In every case we have heard this excuse and ask, “May I see your ‘To Do’ list,” we have gotten the deer caught is the headlights look or they have told us they are too busy to do a “To Do” list! This is insane! The minimum level of discipline your bank or department should be running under is a calendar updated daily by your designated librarian. The next step is a task list also updated by your librarian. The final and most organized step of all is the individual “To Do” list. Here is how we recommend you keep this list:
- There should never be more than 10 active items on this list at any one time.
- Items that that do not need your attention this week should be moved to your calendar.
- Any items that are going to require help from others should also be on the task list.
- Items should be ranked by level of importance. Assign each “To Do” item a letter (A, B, or C) and a number (1, 2, or 3). The letter denotes importance (A being the most important and C being the least important). The number denotes urgency (1 being the most urgent and 3 being the least urgent). You may have more than one “A1” or more than one “B3”, etc. When prioritizing, you should only be thinking of the one item at a time, not all 5 or 10 items at once.
- Any unfinished items should be transferred to the next day’s “To Do” list.
- As each item is completed, scratch it off your list! Draw a line through it! The act of crossing things off creates energy and motivation!
If you have a disciplined approached to you and your team’s daily activities, you will improve your effectiveness 200 to 400%. If you don’t you will be “too busy!”
