University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
What to Do When There's Too Much to Do
Book

What to Do When There's Too Much to Do

Reduce Tasks, Increase Results, and Save 90 Minutes a Day

Laura Stack
Berrett-Koehler, 2012
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Productivity expert Laura Stack offers simple, innovative ways to help you enjoy a more productive and meaningful workday. She shows you how to prioritize your workload and create realistic daily, weekly and yearly work schedules by decluttering your files and inbox, identifying what’s really important, streamlining your workload and making more effective decisions. Some of her suggestions pertaining to health and exercise are extremely helpful, but can be found in other advice manuals. Nevertheless, most of her organizational ideas are novel and worth implementing. getAbstract recommends Stack’s realistic suggestions to everyone seeking to simplify a hectic schedule.

Summary

“The Case for Reduction”

More is not better. You can be successful even if you do less. Studies show that a “60-hour work week results, on average, in a 25% decrease in productivity.” To channel your energy more efficiently, use the six-step “Productivity Workflow Formula”:

1. “Determine What to Do”

Examine your to-do list. If it’s filled with tasks with assorted due dates, it’s probably long and overwhelming. If you’ve thrown in some items you couldn’t say no to doing, your list is probably downright frightening! To decide what stays on your list, estimate your “personal return on investment” – that is, the value you offer your company. Demonstrate that you’ve earned or saved your firm “at least three times your base salary” each year. If you can’t determine a financial value, find a way to show how your company would suffer from your absence. Evaluate each task you do based on your personal value:

  • What tasks are most important? – List your 10 most important responsibilities. Does your list match your boss’s perception of your priorities and value? If the two accounts differ, you are not giving your organization your best efforts...

About the Author

Laura Stack, head of The Productivity Pro, is a keynote speaker and author of Leave the Office Earlier, Find More Time, and three other books.

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