[MUSIC] Now, that we can identify quickly which tasks are necessary, we need some way to manage them, consider how you currently manage your tasks. Do you use it, to do list? Do you use a calendar. What about for your employees? Are tasks on project timelines on anyone's to do list or calendar? Pause for a moment and consider this. In this video, we'll learn to optimize our calendar, files and communication tools, to achieve our long term goals media deadlines and improve our work relationships. Daily calendar or scheduling tool, if not get one, there are a million time and task organizational tools, many are free online with more added every day. So, I'm not going to discuss specific tools, but I do recommend choosing those that work together, use an email system that automatically adds events. And accompanying materials to your calendar or that enables you to show others, when you're available and that when, they choose a time to meet with you. It auto creates a calendar event, there are hundreds of books, online articles and programs on time management and there are hundreds of apps, that help people stay on track. To be seen as dependable at work, you must complete tasks and projects on time research what's out there, choose what works for you. I'm going to share some tips that help me manage, my workspace calendar and information flow and you can decide, if these might help you. I'm sharing ideas that should work regardless of the application you use or your company requires you to use, whether it's Outlook or Google or Apple. Even if it's a piece of paper, but I'm going to talk about is a system a way of thinking about your time that keeps you organized, you should create your own that works for you. Don't take my system as gospel, look around at other options, they might fit your work style better once you have a system down, show it to your direct reports. Explain its advantages and encourage them to find something that works for them, I don't advise requiring employees to use the same system you choose. As what works for one person might not work for others, teach them why it matters and give them decision latitude over, how they meet expectations on time. Regardless what we're doing here is not just managing our time, we want to manage our priorities and our energy, here is mine. First, I name every category of work projects, courses, long term plans, et cetera, here's an example list of categories I'm working on right now. I use these labels consistently, these also are in different colors in my calendar and file systems so, I don't need to put the three letter code for everything. For example, personal meetings like a medical appointment are green and my calendar, so I don't need the word personal for all of those. File names for the course Engineering Management and Leadership, I'll start with EML, a meeting regarding the graduate program has MSEM in the subject line. The date that my syllabus is due for the foundations course has FoAE in the title, if someone stops me in the hallway and asks me to do something. I added to my calendar right then and I label it before meetings start, I put the name of the category, at the top of the sheet on which I'm taking notes. Whether I'm taking notes electronically or on paper, if I'm in a meeting regarding one category of work and someone mentioned something related to another. I start a new sheet and put the name at the top, if I don't have time to open a new note, I make a star next to the item and move it later. Having a naming convention enables me to find emails, appointments, due dates, files and so on much more quickly, I cannot tell you what a lifesaver this is. Items on your to do list are not commitments until they're on your calendar, it's not a commitment if it's not on your calendar, so at least once a day I like to do this at the end. You might prefer the beginning, I review my to do list against task in time, inventory categories and narrow the to do list down to priorities. That is those that are necessary for achieving my mission, my vision and my strategy, I estimate the time it will take to complete each task, and I can easily move things around. If something takes less or more time or I get interrupted then I opened my calendar, where again I've used colors to differentiate personal and work events. Calendar, events that are time bound or bold and those that are from, a to do list and therefore flexible show up on my calendar lighter, you can see on this calendar. The three events all our work and all are bolded from my to do list, I copy tasks that are urgent and necessary into available slots like this. As you can see grading the essays is urgent and I have one item do in the afternoon, the blocks of time that remain if any are where I copy and paste tasks and activities. That are not urgent or time delineated, but aren't necessary to meet long term goals or prevent future problems in other words, priorities that are not urgent. Have you ever had to wait 15 or 30 minutes when your doctor is running late or worse, when people are late to meetings? I can use that time efficiently by quickly searching for the short duration tasks, phone numbers, bile links, everything I need to complete them as in my calendar. When I delegate a task to a direct report or ask appear on my boss for something, even if it's just answers to questions in an email, I create a calendar event for it. That prevents me from micro managing my employees or forgetting to follow up with others, so this is my system. It's not perfect, but it works for me and I bet that once you create your own, you'll find you and your team complete more tasks in less time. And because you have learned to prioritize these tasks, will get you all closer to your goals now, have you ever been in a meeting and someone said. What were your thoughts on that document I sent? And you cannot remember what they're talking about, watch the next video to learn, how your calendar can help you be more prepared and professional.
