Though attention to detail is usually considered a positive attribute, your time commitment should vary according to the importance of a project and the needs of your audience. It may take you one day to do B+ work, but it may take the rest of the work to bump it up to an A. For your highest-ranked Objectives and Targets, it is usually worth spending that extra time and effort. But for most of your low-priority tasks, B+ is quite often “good enough.”
Takeaways
1. Discard most of the emails and letters you receive–80 percent of your inbox is crammed with low-priority items.
2. Respond immediately to important requests. Don’t waste time by having to refind an email or think twice about an appointment.
3. Multitasking is a good way of accomplishing low-priority tasks efficiently. It’s perfectly okay to skim a report while listening to a conference call.
4. Don’t try to multitask if both activities are mentally demanding. The rapid switching between topics wastes your brain’s energy.
5. Don’t multitask in front of actual or potential customers; they expect your full attention.
6. Reach an express agreement with your colleagues on what are acceptable emailing practices at meetings.
7. Accept that you can’t do every task perfectly. Turn in B+ work for your low-priority tasks so you can create A work where it matters more.
8. Avoid the tendency to micromanage. Give your subordinates significant freedom to complete projects, even if you think that could lead to a higher risk of mistakes.
9. If you have the power to do so, eliminate the bureaucratic rules that force your employees to fill out needless forms or get advance approval for trivial matters.
10. Learn how to deal with–or get around–bureaucratic impediments that force you to spend too much time on low-priority tasks.
* Source: Extreme Productivity by Robert C. Pozen