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Thread: Tackle the tough things first

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Tackle the tough things first

    One of the best business leadership articles I've read this year. Or maybe I'm being prejudiced because I can seriously relate.

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    Yvonne (31-Dec-09)

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    Email problem daveob's Avatar
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    Thanks for the link Dave_A.

    Very interesting article.

    I may be weak ( as defined in the article ), but I prefer to look at my daily list of tasks to be done ( scheduled on Outlook, so I don't have to worry about them until the day they need to be done ) and I generally start with the simple, easy and quick tasks.

    Why ? Because they generally require less brain power, can be ticked off the list quickly (usually within about 1 hour), and at the end I am left with only 1 complex / difficult / time consuming task that I can devote my full attention to, without any of the many minor tasks ( now completed ) nagging in the background.

    Maybe that's why I am not running a big corporation ......
    Watching the ships passing by.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by daveob View Post
    I generally start with the simple, easy and quick tasks.
    Not always applicable in all circumstances, but my tip there is to delegate them as much as possible.

    I admit I have a "warm-up" routine of up to an hour where I do the ritual stuff I can't delegate (which includes going through TFSA and making some posts as necessary). But from there it's onto the priority list.

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    Email problem tonyflanigan's Avatar
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    As I get tasks in I decide whether they can be done right away or not. I have three "assessment periods daily, when I look at what has been done, and what still needs to be done.

    My 'job list' is then updated to suit. More complex and time consuming tasks I leave for evenings, or very early morning, as that is when I am most undisturbed by the world.

    We do have a problem with family who are under the impression that 'working from home' means we're immediately available for whatever reason can be found.
    I'm one of the T's from TnT Unleashed Web design, photography and writing services
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    We do have a problem with family who are under the impression that 'working from home' means we're immediately available for whatever reason can be found.

    i can relate to this...when the wife walks in and finds you logged on to any forums she assumes you have nothing better do...so she makes a list of urgent repairs required

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    Email problem daveob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by murdock View Post
    when the wife walks in and finds you logged on to any forums she assumes you have nothing better do...so she makes a list of urgent repairs required
    You have the same problem I have. It must be in the "Annoying Wifery for Dummies" manual.

    They just don't understand that a lot of our way of staying in touch with laws, methods and ideas is via the forum ( especially this one ).

    quick - gotta duck - she's coming in the office for something.
    Watching the ships passing by.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by murdock View Post
    We do have a problem with family who are under the impression that 'working from home' means we're immediately available for whatever reason can be found.
    I guess I was pretty tough on myself and my family. In my days working from home I still kept "working hours" and I had a room as my dedicated office. When I was in there I was "at work" - period. It took a little family training to establish the routine.

    I suspect some of this is "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" stuff. When I got my first cellphone, my wife thought this was a brilliant way to give me a shopping list of stuff to get on the way home
    NOTE TO FEMALE READERS: Men don't enjoy detours, especially once they've started the journey on their mission. We sit in our cave to decide our goal, and when we come out... It's true - Men have one track minds
    Quote Originally Posted by murdock View Post
    when the wife walks in and finds you logged on to any forums she assumes you have nothing better do...
    This has taken a lot of "training."

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    it was first the pager...."please contact me urgently" finally after climbing down from a 15 metre water tower....pack up the tools...drive to the closest telephone 5 km away ask the owner if i can use the telephone..."sweety wont you get 2 litres of milk instead of one on your way home". problem is we had a security network for a group of us looking after each other...so you had to make the call...we eventually had a code number in case of emergency.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    I can't beat that one

    You must be chuffed we live in a cellphone era nowadays then.

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