Prioritizing Your Time by Lissanne Oliver

Steve Jobs said it:

“People are busy doing whatever they do best, and they want us to do what we do best. Their lives are crowded. They have other things to do than think about how to integrate their computers and devices.”

Wouldn't it be great if everything in life travelled smoothy and nothing ever went wrong? Things didn't break, emergencies didn't happen and unexpected tasks, projects and events didn't chew up our time?

Let me help you take better control. Let me help you manage your time. Here’s the best Steve like-advice I can give you.

First up: what’s your biggest time waster? Identify it, then moderate. Be honest with yourself: if it's screen time (eg the interwebs) limit phaffing to half what you normally do. Set a timer, then unplug your ethernet cable. If you're on wireless, shut down your browser and work interrupted.

*Allow for delays. They happen. 10% contingency is great. 20% contingency is genius. For example, if it takes you 10 minutes travel, allow 11 minutes. 11 minutes is great. 12 minutes is genius!


*Plan for the worst, hope for the best.


*Fortune favours the prepared mind. Kudos, Louis Pasteur.


*Have more time for the good stuff by focussing when you have to do and phaffing when you can. Don't mix 'em up.


*Email is a recipe for inaction. Pick up the frickin phone. Do it now.


*Don't "do it later." Not making decisions means clutter and it means you are having to revist, rethink, rehandle the thought or item.


*Are you doing too many things at once? Here's a wonderful poem to help with overwhelm:


Productivity in 11 words

One thing at a time.
Most important thing first.
Start now.

Or you can check out my series of comics to help with organising, decluttering, productivity: Luke Gets Lost is a familiar tale of laziness.

"A little work now for a lotta lazy later on."


Corinne Grant talks about "shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic". Agreed. I think procrastination is about as useful as drinking 3 bottles of wine in one sitting: there's no way you'll feel good about it the next day. Are you self sabotaging? Or just a tad lazy?


*Lissanne Oliver is a Snow dome collector, creative peep, business owner, collaborator,
TV presenter and as her dad says "The Bradman of Organising".