[Stonehenge]

This is more about how you manage your time, and not so much about managing people....

When you have a list of tasks you need to accomplish for the day or the week, how do you go about getting them done?

Are you the type that prioritizes all the tasks that have to get done, only working on the #1 priority until it's complete?

Are you the type that prioritizes, but more loosely, maybe knocking off a few small/less important tasks, just to get your momentum going?

With either prioritization, how detailed are you? Do you have a matrix of importance and timeline, to best judge what task you should tackle next? Or are they just ranked in absolute level of importance?

Ok, ok...enough questions, I know.

[Will Pacala]

I'am most often a mixture of all of them. Although most times I tackle the ones that are most important or most urgent to do. Picky clients usually ge tstuff done faster so I can get paid and move on. It most often depends on whats going on.

[dan deutekom]

I hate to say it but I am a procrastinator. I tend to leave things until I have no choice but to do it so that I can make the deadline. If I prioritize and try to do something early I tend to get easily distracted. If I am crowding a deadline I just concentrate on the task at hand.

[jwholden]

I carry a little legal pad and write down what needs to get done and in what order. Check them off as I go. This works great and makes for a very smooth day if I do it the night before.

When it comes to office stuff like should I work up this design which I can install in three months, send out my landscape maintenance proposals which I should have done ASAP, or go to GTX and see if anyone posted some pictures I usually work from the bottom up!

[Will Pacala]

Does anyone set up time/work sheets to check as the day goes by? Something that keeps track of everything that has been done and everything that needs to be done.

I only still do this if I have alot of large,important, or urgent jobs to do at once. This makes sure that there is never a job that isn't tended to when it needs to be. Keeping a general list of things to do helps me. Anything too fancy will mess me up. A regular notepad is all I need.

[Paul]

On my laptop I run Outlook Office 2000. Each night I load in what tasks I need to complete for the next day. As I complete each task I can cross them out. I can also link it to the office computer and update either one as needed.

[scl]

I, too , am a great procrastinator! I like Paul's Outlook idea, I've tried notepads and either lose them or destroy them. Had a notebook in my truck with about 2 weeks worth of info in it and spilled 1/2 gal of roundup on it. Man, did that suck.
I tend to do things as they present themselves, and PM things when they're due. Time management always bites me in the (radio edit)!

[Bill Schwab]

I use a legal ruled pad, write down items and number them 1,2,3.

All number one items are done immediatley, if not by me, they are delegated. If I am in a position where my note pad is not around, I call the office and leave a message to remind me.

Then, along with the daily "To do" list, my wife and I have a goal book that we use jointly. My wife is indirectly involved with operations at the company, and directly involved with every major purchase or financial decision needing to be made. Matter of fact, we just left the beach house, and as we do quarterly, we went over all of our goals and set an agenda this year. We made 3/4 of what we intended to make in terms of goals, and besides working on those we did not do, set other goals and needs.

This book, in my opinion, is one of the strongest tools a couple can have for business, and relationship. Often we strive in one area of life, then lag in others....This gives us a chance to review the how what and whens so we can keep a proper balance.

[Tim]

I am King of the procrastinators on a personal level. I even have a bumper sticker that reads: Reasons to procrastinate: 1.
Get it!?!?

In business, I like using a palm pilot. Had to ditch the pad and pen. Too much important stuff was becoming lost, or flying out the window while driving! I always try to prioritize and set due dates, or goals! Tim

[Nebraska]

I use ACT! with a system of letters and numbers for priority. A1, A2, etc..High priority..that day. B1..etc Medium Priorty next couple of days... C1...C2.. Lower Priority issues....
It's amazing how fast C's can become A's during the winter season for me.

[Tim]

We used to use Act software too! I really liked the 2.0 version. When we upgraded to the 3.0, everyone wanted the 2.0 back. When we tried to map the info back into 2.0 all of the necessary mapping was not possible. We lost a ton of data. I believe that we ran the 4.0 as well.

What version are you running?

When the big Y2K scare came around, instead of doing yet another upgrade, we jumped ship. We now use Gold Mine 6.0. This is very awesome software! I recommend it highly. Tim