Schedule a Productive Workday
2 min readJul 10, 2018
I recently read a useful article on Entrepreneur.com titled “Want to Schedule a Productive Workday? Follow These 4 Really Simple Strategies.”
I found this article really useful so thought of summarizing it.
1. Keep your To-Do Lists Consistent and Realistic
- Consider keeping several to-do lists based on how long each task and goal will take to complete.
- For example, you might create separate lists for daily, weekly, yearly and life goals.
- Make sure to break down complex tasks into discrete and achievable steps.
- Be consistent and keep all your to do lists in one place.
2. Determine the Priority based on 80/20 Rule
Use the ABCDE method for prioritization.
- “A” signifies “very important” — something you must do. Serious negative consequences will result if the task is not completed.
- “B” signifies “important” — something you should do. This level of task is not as important as your A tasks; only minor negative consequences will result if it is not completed.
- “C” signifies tasks that are “nice to accomplish;” but not as vital as A or B tasks. There are no negative consequences for not completing this category of tasks.
- “D” signifies “delegate.” D tasks should be delegated to someone else. Once you’ve delegated, don’t forget to follow up to make sure these items are on track.
- “E” stands for “eliminate.” Non-essential tasks should be culled from your to-do list in order to free up your time to focus on the tasks that are higher in the hierarchy.
3. Don’t Multitask — Monotask
- Self explanatory — do not multitask — it is not humanly possible.
- If your workflow allows for it, consider allocating specific times of the day for reading and responding to email rather than pouncing on every email notification as it comes in.
4. Sprint to Finish
- Don’t attempt to achieve focus for prolong periods.
- Consider breaking your work day into series of “sprints”, followed by breaks for distraction or rest.
