DO Management

“ I don’t have a To Do list”

~ Peter Thomson

 

 

“ The only important thing to do is the next thing”

~ Michael Neill

 

“Manage by outcomes not presence”

~ the guy who did the presentation for Microsoft at ‘Business 2012’ at the O2 on Tuesday 20th March 2012

 

Timely reminders that we tend to forget

In the “Product Creation Goldmine” 3 day workshop that I attended, Peter Thomson explained how he manages his priorities. “I don’t have a To Do list. I have a Do list”, he said.

We can create endless lists of things to do. Don’t get me wrong, we have to make lists because it focuses us on the next thing we need to do and it can also give a feeling of satisfaction when the list is complete. Happy Happy   ….

A few years back I heard Michael Neill say something remarkably similar. He was saying forget the list, do the most important thing that you need to do next and then do the next most important thing that you need to do after that. Happier Happier …  

At the Business 2012 exhibition the Guy (I don’t know his name. I ambled in half way through his presentation) on the Microsoft stand, whilst presenting Microsoft’s Anywhere, said “Manage by Outcomes not Presence” Even Happier …  

I was timely reminded!

So why do we forget and get ourselves bogged down with big lists and then feel the pressure and probably demonstrate stress?
Because we forget. I don’t know why. I do it myself!

I think the key is set up something to remind you and feel really good about how free we are doing what we need to do.
Re(place your)mind yourself and bump up the good feeling.

I use Simpleology’s programme to help me focus, in particular, what they call the “Dream catcher”. I dump my thoughts into the Dream Catcher and forget about them until I “Start my day”, as they put it, which is another part of their programme. 

To be honest, I haven’t looked at any other time and thought management programmes. I got this from my friend  (“the famous”) Jo Dodds (I expect she might be embarrassed by that  - which is why I said it!) …    

So getting things done is getting rid of the things we need to do next whilst do what we need to do now and then feeling really great about how unpressured we really are and feeling good for no reason whatsoever.
We have the list. The list doesn’t have us!

As a former Business Continuity Manager, the main thing I learnt was gauge the impact and the urgency - What is the impact of not doing something?
- How urgent is the thing that has to be done? And then the overriding question:

Does it have to be done at all?

The combination of how urgent and what is the impact of not doing it works for me!
I check it off against my grid and re-sort my Simpleology accordingly and that allows me to Focus on what I believe is the most important thing:

How good can I feel for absolutely no reason

 

images thebestyoucanbe.org  imindshift.com  microsoft.com AyPeeCo
Jo Dodds can be found at jododdssocialmedia.com