Pick Jar

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pickle jarring itprioritizing in today’s world

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the pickle jar theorya little story to calm your nerves

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Lesson from the pickle jar• Lack of prioritizing = lack of control• Even vague structure increases

productivity• If you don’t respect your time, others

won’t either• Helping others with their time helps

your time as well

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cede control of your lifewhat happens when you don’t

live or die by your priorities

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A total lack of control• He who shouts loudest gets your

attention (email, voicemail, in-person)• Your inbox is completely

dysfunctional• You don’t know what is the biggest

priority at any given time in any given place (ie: What should I be doing RIGHT NOW?)

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Ceding your schedule• Caused by lack of priorities and lack

of keeping appointments with yourself

• Simply “knowing” what needs done today or this week does not mean you get it done

• Creates a complete lack of boundaries around your time and work / life balance

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Ceding your inbox• Symptoms:– Not being able to pick out the most

important email at a glance– Not knowing what is informational vs

actionable– Keeping every email ever sent / received

– just in case• Causes you to be completely

reactionary

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Ceding your priorities• Lack of organization causes distress:–What is your biggest priority right now?–What is the next most important phone

call you need to make?–What is the next most important email

you need to answer?–What is the very next step you can take

on your most important project?

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take control of your lifereducing reactionism, respecting yourself,

respecting others

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What you really, really want• An effective time management

system will:– Allow you to have all the information you

need readily available– Be a trusted system that collects and

organizes all of your incoming information – and allows it to be acted upon

– Keep your head clear of distractions– Allow you to know what needs done at any

given time, in any given location– Let you feel like you’ve actually

accomplished something

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4 keys to taking control• Manage your inputs• Set appointments with yourself• Get actionable• Clean out your inbox

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Taking control of the flood• Reduce• Refuse• Re… erm… consolidate

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Blocking off time• Start your day by processing what’s

come “in” overnight• Make regular appointments with

yourself throughout your day and week… AND KEEP THEM!

• Setting aside time, and sticking to it, lets you block off up to an hour to really Get Things Done

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What is the very next action?• What next actions are• Be actionable in your:–Meeting planning–Meeting wrapups–Weekly reviews– Personal projects– Email

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Doing the impossible• Step 1: Admit getting to an empty inbox is

possible• Step 2: Filter out non-actionable email• Step 3: Filter out sources of non-

actionable email• Step 4: Deal with priority emails (put them

in a folder)• Step 5: Use email tags• Step 6: Establish a set of email

boundaries, and stick with them• Step 7: Clean out your inbox, damnit!

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making the pickle jar worksteps to take control right now

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8 rules for eating my pickles• Start each month, week and day defining

things that must get done during that period

• End each week and month reviewing what you got accomplished

• Set aside blocks of time to actually deal with projects

• Don’t put entire projects on your task list, put next actions on it (baby steps, baby!)

• Be prepared for the world to flood in, no plan is ever perfect – but having no plan is NEVER perfect!

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Thank You!And good luck with your inbox!

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resources for successtaking it beyond the classroom

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Books• Getting Things Done, David Allen• Take Back Your Life, Sally McGhee• 4 Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferris• Conquering Chronic Disorganization,

Judith Kolberg• Total Workday Control Using

Microsoft Outlook, Michael Linenberger

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Blogs• Getting Things Done Zone:

http://www.officezealot.com/gtd/ • 43 Folders:

http://www.43folders.com/ • Lifehacker: www.lifehacker.com • GTD Index:

http://gtdindex.marvelz.com • Lifehack: www.lifehack.org

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Stay in touch!• I try and talk about time management

on a weekly basis on my blog: www.ensight.org

• Feel free to email me: jeremy@b5media.com

• Read b5media’s Time Management blogs:– Declutter It: www.declutterit.com– Pimp My Work: www.pimpmywork.com

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tips from the expertsin-the-trenches advice on time management

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How I Start My Day – Marc OrchantI do a review of my day before I look at any newly

arrived e-mail. That entails reviewing my calendar. This gives me a sense of how much of budget for the day is already committed. With that information fresh in my mind, I’m able to process my Inbox, disposing of newly arrived e-mails and getting my Inbox empty.

 That’s right - the very first thing I do each day is

start with a clear head, an accurate idea of how much time and energy I have to “spend” and an empty Inbox. You have no idea how liberating that can be until you’ve done it.

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The Value of Paper – Sherry StewartFirst,  step, prioritize.  As of this year I have

got rid of tons of closet clutter by giving it away and not replacing it.  I have dumped the extras in my drawers as well this year.  Still, I am afraid to get off my yoga ball for the clutter that surrounds me. 

 I can share one tip: I have to have a list and

calendar with me wherever I go.  I used to buy them but now I just print my Outlook Calendar.