"Schedule your Priorities"

Businessman Stephen Covey says, “The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”

That same philosophy holds true for you, according to Robert Pozen, author of the book, “Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours.”  

Pozen advises you think carefully about why you’re engaging in any activity and what you expect to get out of it. Set your highest-ranking goals and determine whether your schedule is consistent with your ranking. Here’s a brief snapshot of his six steps: 

1. Write everything down. Include the routine tasks that you have to do daily or weekly and longer-term projects assigned to you. These may be long-term goals, such as advancing your career, or short-term goals, like developing a new skill. Add these aspirations for your work to your list. Be as broad as possible; capture all your tasks and goals, Pozen says.

2. Organize by time horizon. Divide your list into three-time categories:

• Career aim: Long-term goals over at least five years.
• Objectives: Professional goals over the next three months to two years.
• Targets: Action steps that should guide your work on a weekly or daily basis.

3. Rank your objectives. Think about what you want to do, what you're good at, and what the world needs from you. These are very different - and there may be some conflict among them. Determining what you want to do is critical to your ranking decisions. 

4. Rank your targets. Your targets, or action steps, will typically fall into one of two categories: enabling targets, which help you accomplish your objectives, and assigned targets, which are given to you, Pozen says. Decide which targets belong in which category and then try to rank them.

5. Estimate how you spend your time. Once you've ranked your objectives and targets, determine how effectively your schedule matches your high-priority goals. Take out your calendar and answer these six questions:

• How many hours do you spend at work vs. other activities?
• What are the three main work activities on which you spend the most time?
• How many hours each week do you spend on meetings, forms or reports, and responding to emails?
• Will your weekly schedule be similar a year from now?
• What will be your three main activities during the next year, and will they change?
• How will you measure success and failure over the next year?
• Compare your allocations of time with your ranked list of objectives and targets. What percentage of your time do you spend on activities that help you meet your highest objectives and targets? How much time do you spend on lower-ranking items?

6. Finally, address the mismatch. You'll likely find you’re spending no more than half your time on your highest priorities. Some professionals haven't carefully thought about their objectives and targets, and so often neglect an important goal until it becomes a crisis, demanding their full time and effort. 

In the end remember, if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not you’ll find an excuse. Always err on the side of priorities. You’ll be glad you did!