(New Beginnings, No.7)
- Decide on priorities.
- Give prime time to work of prime importance. Use time well by choosing it well, e.g. indoor jobs for winter, outdoor jobs for summer. Choose work for quiet or busy times of the day, week, year, etc.
- Plan and prepare the time, the task and the tools.
- If interrupting work, make a mental or written note of where to resume. At the end of one section of a large piece of work, leave a piece undone so as to provide an easy “lead in” for when you resume.
- Take breaks from time to time, short and many, rather than few and long. What makes you tired is not the amount of work you do, but the way you do it.
- Break a large job down into many small jobs; then do one thing at a time.
- Don’t put away the tools until you’ve finished the job. Do put away the tools when you are finished – and in the place where you’ll need them.
- Develop your own strengths and skills; don’t waste time worrying about limitations. If the mood is there, go with it.
- Keep focussing on the broad picture; don’t get lost in the details.
- ‘Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.’ (Cecil Northcote Parkinson) So, get stuck in and get on with it!