Time management and productivity consultant Robyn Pearce on prioritising.
Be Selective
Have you noticed how overloaded you feel when you try to absorb, retain and manage too much information, too many items, too much email? What happens to your desk or office if you're trying to keep tabs on too much 'stuff'? Does it become a disaster zone? And how effective are you at such times?
Learn to be selective about what you expose yourself to - and what you keep. A typical clutter-hugger thinks she or he has to keep up with every new advance in their field, keep up with every relevant magazine, attend every conference, hold onto every article (in the often-mistaken belief that they'll go back to it at a later date). Wrong! With the speed of change and technology, almost anything we need to know is online. And - much of what we've meticulously saved for years is probably obsolete.
Do an audit on yourself: if you're a hoarder of physical paper and equipment, can you find everything instantly when you need it? And if you can, how much time have you invested into managing all that information?
Work on a Need-to-Know Basis
Try reading only what you need right now. Don't even look at things you've got no current use for. Get ruthless about pushing back on everything else.
