Being Efficient

I knew pretty early in March that April was going to be a busy month. After a quiet panic attack, my type A personality kicked in, and I did what I always do: attempted to organize everything that threatened to pile up and overwhelm me to within an inch of its life.  :)

I dug out my planner and my colored pens (Christmas gifts that I am loving!) and started making lists and blocking out days on my calendar. I pulled my sticky notes and covered my planner pages in reminders. Popped open excel and made a six page spreadsheet of all my tasks by subject area (home, work, class, and general reminders). 

Then, I hopped over to this great post that I've had bookmarked forever with the Top 6 Tips on how to be efficient by Dan Ariely. 

I made this my desktop background to remind me that time
is particularly precious right now, and there's none to waste!

I've long internalized tips #1 and 3 - The World IS Working Against You and Write Everything Down. To help myself manage a crazy April, I latched on to tips # 2 and #5: Control Your Environment (Or It Will Control You) and Watch for the Horsemen of the Productivity Apolocolypse: email, multi-tasking, and "structured procrastination" - i.e. doing little stuff that makes you feel productive, but doesn't actually accomplish anything important.

I also added one more, prompted by my Nutritional Therapy training - take care of yourself. Everything gets worse in a hurry if you don't prioritize the basics: good food, enough water, good quality sleep, and consistent pauses to rest/recharge and stretch.

None of it is rocket science or new wisdom, but actually sticking to it has made all the difference. Halfway into the month, I'm on or ahead of target on all my key tasks/deadlines! 

Which of Dan's six rules do you embrace, and which ones do you need to work on?