A frequently asked question.

The paralegal’s to-do list is endless (as is the to-do list of a solicitor or trainee). A frequently asked question is “what should I be working on?”. Not just for me, but for all my colleagues.

Scottish guy took me through a to-do method that he was taught on an “organisation training day” he attended with work last week and it looked something like what is pictured above. I have seen similar methods, involving the use of post its to prioritise but this was the first time I had tried it.

Basically there are 4 categories of to-dos:
– important/urgent
– not important/urgent
– important/not urgent
– not important/not urgent.

Ideally, you should always be working in the important/not urgent category.

How did I get on?

I tried this for the first time today – I kept on top of my inbox (most new emails and jobs went straight into the “important/not urgent” category) and dealt with all my “important/urgent” jobs and got through a lot of the “important/not urgent” ones. I was surprised at how much time I actually spend on not important jobs when I have important ones on my desk.

So far so good. Will review the method again in a week.

Want to give it a go? Here’s what to do:

1. Think of all the things you need to do over a two week period.
2. Write them down on post-its.
3. Stick them in the relevant categories. (This is the important bit.)
4. Start working on them. No more procrastination.
5. Delegate the not important/not urgent jobs.
6. Update and review – move the post-its around.