Recently, I collected and saved 30 days of traditional postal mail. I could count on two hands the number of pieces I actually needed to read. What was most interesting about this experiment was the sheer volume of mail I didn’t need to read. We often call this junk mail. When stacked, it measured six inches thick. The point of this exercise was to see how much time it takes to sort through the junk mail to find the mail I actually needed to read. Sorting through the mail took only a few minutes, to be sure, but those were a few minutes I wasn’t spending on something more enjoyable. The larger point of this exercise was to imagine how many routine things can slowly eat away at your time without a person even realizing it.
What is coming at me and from where?
The workflow process begins when we receive The What or information/task. The elements within The What portion can best be thought of as anything that might prompt you to take action. It could be something simple, like sorting through junk mail in search of a more valuable letter, or something more complex, like your boss appointing you as the project lead. Regardless, understanding how and where you receive tasks is the first step in developing a personalized time and task management system.
If you haven’t done so already, take a few minutes to think about how and where you receive information that may prompt you to take action. For illustration purposes, I broke The What portion of my workflow into 11 categories: emails (personal and professional), Text Messages (personal and professional), phone calls (personal and professional), verbal (conversations, personal, professional, friends, and family), etc. Then I looked at the volume of information I received from each category and how I needed to respond to each action item. I couldn’t always control the number of tasks coming my way, but in many cases I could influence how they entered my workflow. This basic analysis allowed me to create a customized time and task management workflow system that worked for me.
Most of us spend a lot of time sorting through emails, phone calls, conversations, traditional postal mail, social media, and text messages. And if that’s not enough, a lot of us have multiples within each of these categories. For much of my career, I had two cell phones, one for work and one for personal use.
If you haven’t already, take some time to reflect on where and how you receive tasks. Next, ask yourself whether you can streamline or consolidate how you receive tasks. The following examples won’t work in every situation, but they may inspire ideas for your own. When appropriate, I would systematically and intentionally shift how I received tasks to email. When people would ask me to do something verbally, I would ask them to send me an email or a calendar invite. When people sent me a text message with a task, I would politely ask them to send me an email. This may sound a little rude, but it was my way of managing my workflow. In some situations, I would send myself an email to remind me of the task. Over time, my email inbox became a consolidated place to manage my To-Do List. At the end of the day, your system will either manage you, or you can manage your system. It may feel hard and even awkward at first, but over time you will come to appreciate an efficient system that works for you.
What can be reduced or eliminated?
As you examine The What portion of your time and task management workflow, consider this: one of the earliest opportunities to improve any workflow is at the input. The question then becomes: Is the input side of your workflow optimized? Are there elements you can eliminate, reduce, streamline, or consolidate before they consume more of your time and attention?
Start by looking for opportunities to eliminate, reduce, or streamline The What portion of your workflow. Everyone’s situation is different, but for example, maybe you can automate your monthly bills or cut back on social media. The first step in freeing up more time is to eliminate, reduce, or streamline the number of things you have to sort through.
The goal isn’t to eliminate everything coming into your workflow. Many of The What elements are important, necessary, or enjoyable parts of our lives. The goal is to become more intentional about what enters your workflow, where it comes from, and how much of your finite time it consumes. The less unnecessary noise the Self has to sort through, the more time and attention we can give to the things that actually matter.
RuReady Framework Connection:
This article is part of the Basic Universal Skills (Do) elements within the RuReady Adult Readiness Framework.
This series explores Time and Task Management, using a personal workflow approach to develop skills required across all three domains of our lives.
Explore the complete series:
Skill (US03.01): Time and Task Management Workflow
Skill (US03.02): Time and Task Management Workflow: The What
Skill (US03.03): Time and Task Management Workflow: The Self
Skill (US03.04): Time and Task Management Workflow: The When
Skill (US03.05): Time and Task Management Workflow: Only Do What Only You Can Do
If you enjoyed this article, explore the broader RuReady Adult Readiness Framework:
Preface: A Field Manual for Adult Life
Chapter 1: Why Do We Do What We Do?
Chapter 2: An Exploration of the RuReady Framework
Chapter 3: Life Skills for the Personal Domain
Chapter 4: Career Skills for the Professional Domain
Chapter 5: Leadership Skills for Every Level
Before moving on, feel free to use the checklist below to assess your readiness level.
Please feel free to share your own experiences and lessons learned in the comment box below.
Your shared thoughts may help someone else going through a similar experience.
Thank you.
Readiness Review Checklist
With the exception of the first pass/fail question, each item below is worth 1 or 2 points. Score yourself honestly; give yourself a point only if you can answer yes with confidence, not just in theory.
P/F _____ Have you thought about where all your tasks come from? Knowing where and how your tasks come to you is the first step in regaining control of your time.
2.0 _____ Have you considered whether the number of places from which you receive tasks can be reduced or consolidated? Reducing the number of places you have to monitor can make your workflow easier to manage
1.0 _____ Have you thought about eliminating, reducing, or streamlining things that might prompt you to take action? Reducing the number of things that prompt you to take action is the most effective way to regain control of your time.
1.0 _____ Can or should any elements of the What Portion of the workflow be automated? As AI continues to improve, it may be valuable for AI tools to automate some of the things you do manually now.
_____: Assessment Grade
4 = A · 3 = B · 2 = C · 1 or 0 = D
Wherever you land, this is your starting point, not your ceiling.
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” Steve Jobs
Stay Ready, My Friends.
Useful Resources:
Amazon Books:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey, Jim Collins, and Sean Covey. This has long been one of my favorite books. I have used many of the lessons taught in this book throughout my career.
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown, is a refreshing reminder that doing less, on purpose, can lead to far greater impact. It’s a clear, uplifting guide that helps you cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is informational only and does not constitute professional advice or recommendation. This reflects my own experience, research, and opinions, and may not apply to your situation. There are a lot of things in life that, with a can-do attitude and a little elbow grease, we can Do It Yourself (DIY); however, there are some things that are better left to the professionals. When in doubt, please consult a professional; that’s part of being ready, too.
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