Do you have major "abundance blockers"—stubborn habits or blind spots that prevent you from reaching the things you want? Nearly all of us do. And it is clear that some of the biggest abundance blockers stem from our wasting time by working inefficiently.  I asked Michael Linenberger to give us ideas that we can implement right now. He’s author of the new book, Master Your Workday Now! 

Pete

Stress from Out-of-Control Urgency is the Biggest Abundance Blocker

Being inefficient slows you down of course. But beyond slowing you down, inefficiency blocks abundance. Here’s why. If due to inefficiencies you are consistently feeling overwhelmed by all the incomplete things you have to do, then those feelings of stress will knock you off your center and lead to an always-frazzled state of mind. That unfocused, distracted state will block your natural ability to work toward or attract wealth.

Urgency is the real culprit here—when your work builds up and everything is overdue, then all things that cross your desk start to look urgent. The problem with out-of-control urgency is that it kicks us off track. The feeling that everything is "on fire" prevents effective work and leads to that feeling of being overwhelmed that is such a negative state.

Not only that, but overwhelmed people usually do not take time to do the basic daily abundance builders—things like visualizing goals, or planning out actions.

How to Control Urgency

So what should you do? Your very first step should be to get urgency under control. And there is a simple way to control urgency—one that does not require turning off email, staying off the phone, or canceling all your meetings. The solution is all about understanding—about seeing the true urgency of items and managing these items appropriately. It’s about making a calm decision about the true urgency of each action.

Here is the technique I recommend: classify demands for actions into what I call "urgency zones," and then manage each urgency zone differently. You can do this with a simple to-do list. In fact, below I show you how to create what I call the "Workday Mastery To-Do List." Using it provides the clarity you need in order to remove the feeling that everything is a fire—it will in fact help you become a master of your workday.

Creating Your Workday Mastery To-Do List

Let’s create your Workday Mastery To-Do List right now. You will need two blank sheets of paper (you could also do this in a word processing program or on a spreadsheet). On these pages you will define and use three urgency zones as follows.

Zone 1: At the top left of the first sheet of paper, write the label "Critical Now Tasks." Below that label, in the top third of the page, enter those actions that are absolutely due today. Use the "going-home test" when placing items here—only list tasks here that are so urgent that you will not depart your office until they are completed. This is your first and most important urgency zone.

Zone 2: Next, about one third of the way down the page, write another label: "Opportunity Now Tasks," and below that, list those items you would like to do in the next week or so, but that are not absolutely due today. This is your second urgency zone.

Zone 3: Finally, take the second sheet of paper and label it at the top "Over-the-Horizon Tasks." Enter on this page items that can wait a week or more. This is your third and final urgency zone.

Using Your Workday Mastery To-Do List

Now, here are the simple ways to control urgency using this Workday Mastery To-Do List.
Review the Critical Now list often, perhaps even every hour. Commit to getting those items done as early in the day as possible so that you can move on to less urgent things. These are your high-stress tasks, so keep them well reviewed and attended to. This one short list contains the only things in your day that are worthy of getting really worried about. Because of the going-home test, this list is usually surprisingly short and can often be dismissed quickly. And your whole day eases when you do.

Review the Opportunity Now section one or more times a day and work things there as the opportunity arises. By definition you can relax more on items in this section; use your creativity here to find synergies and get things done appropriately. However, try to keep this list to 20 items; if you have more, move the lowest priority tasks to the Over-the-Horizon page.

Review the Over-the-Horizon page once a week. These items remain out-of-sight and out-of mind between those weekly reviews, and so contribute no stress to your workday. When you do review these weekly, if anything there has become more urgent, move it as needed to the first page.

Your Urgency is Now Under Control!

That’s it! That is your new Workday Mastery To-Do List. Using this list is quite simple and amazingly powerful. If you enter all your tasks on these two pages (even tasks arriving in e-mail), you can now clearly see the relative urgency of all things on your plate, and you can focus your energy and attention more appropriately within each zone. It will quickly become clear that on any given day there are only a few items that you need to really get excited about (the very short list at the top), and that other than those, you can approach the majority of your items with a more balanced and creative energy.

And best of all, with urgency well controlled, you will finally be able to find the time to focus on important tasks and goals. With the feeling gone that the building is burning around you, you will have the presence to work on getting the right things done.

And best of all, with this more balanced and centered outlook on work, your natural ability to attract abundance can return!

Michael

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Michael Linenberger’s new book, Master Your Workday Now! presents powerful new approaches to managing tasks, emails, your goals, and your career. Michael is also the author of the #1 best-selling Microsoft Outlook book called Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook. In that book Michael shows how to use Outlook to get tasks and email under control. Formerly a VP at the management consultancy firm Accenture, Michael now travels the US and the world giving lectures and teaching seminars showing others how to get back control of their out-of-control workdays. www.michaellinenberger.com