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The Secret to Getting It All Done (Video)

By Jessica Wishart

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dateThu, Dec 15, 2016 @ 09:00 AM

At our Breakthrough Conference this year, our head of products, Ryan Walcott, presented a breakoutPST_0247.jpg session called “The Secret to Getting It All Done.” Wow - that’s quite a title, and not surprisingly, the session was packed. I think we all find ourselves wishing we had more time - watching our to-do lists grow or having that feeling that we just can’t keep up with all the work we have to do, both personally and professionally. In addition to being our head of products and consulting with a handful of clients, Ryan is also a pastor at a local church and has seven children. As a mother of one who feels lucky to make it to church at all some weeks, I was very interested to hear what he has to say on this topic.

 

I wanted to share some of my key learnings from this session with all of you:

  • Use a framework to think about work that needs to get done. Ryan suggested the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize and manage life:
    • Is it urgent & important? Do it now.
    • Is it urgent but not important? Delegate it to someone else.
    • Is it not urgent but important? Schedule a time to do it later.
    • Is it not urgent & not important? Take it off your list!
  • “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important” - Dwight Eisenhower
  • Use a “trusted system” to manage your life as recommended by David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. For those of you who have Rhythm software, use this as your trusted system to manage your days. In our upcoming software release, we have enhanced features to help you do this more effectively.
  • We all have many items on our plate:
    • the key responsibilities and desired results on our Job Scorecard that we were hired to deliver
    • our daily work and projects
    • growth priorities for ourselves and for our business
    • new great opportunities or challenges that come along unexpectedly
  • The secret is planning for these things effectively and eliminating distractions in our execution. To do this, we have to be proactive.
    • Have a weekly meeting with yourself.
    • Put key action items on your calendar so you are scheduling time to get the work done.
    • Plan your day every day - review your action items and tackle the most important priorities first.
  • Filter requests for your time through the Eisenhower Matrix.

Thanks, Ryan, for sharing your secrets! I hope some of these tips can help you tame the chaos and manage your productivity with intention. If you have any secrets of your own, please comment to share them!

2017 Rhythm Systems Breakthrough Conference

  request meeting with Rhythm Systems

Jessica Wishart

 

Photo Credit: iStock by Getty Images