I recently returned from training at a Fortune 100 company, absolutely an industry leader in their field, but what I found there shocked me. I am amazed at the number of people are “winging it” at work. They come to work each morning without a plan or direction. And this applies to employees at all levels, from the senior management through the entry level positions. It is a case of the blind-leading-the-blind. How productive can that be?

As I have found a lot, I received a very positive response on the Master List. For those who don’t know, the Master List occurs on a pad a paper and any “to-do” that pops into your brain throughout the day goes onto the List. It can be related to work, family, your dog, whatever it is, write it onto the Master List. So often these days our brains become giant calandars with addendums, sticky notes and reminders constantly distracting us from how our brains were meant to function: as processors. When you try to keep everything in your brain, things are guaranteed to fall through the cracks, not get done and take away from your performance at every other task you are doing. When all of those “extras” go onto the Master List, you are far more likely to accomplish them in an efficient and timely manner. Even better than being efficient, the Master List can be a flexible list. The nature of life these days requires an affinity for change, constantly. So flexibility is key when you need to get things done.

So, how do you plan? And how is your plan working for you?

It is amazing to me how little new material or ideas there are regarding productivity. Through 13 years of research there are three key areas I have identified. I will discuss the first area in this blog:

First Area of Improvement

It is very important to set aside the last 15-30 minutes of each day to put “closure” on your day. I see so many people that leave work and “the lights are still on”. When they go home they are still thinking about work. In fact, because there is no closure they often wake up in the middle of the night thinking about an unresolved issue.  They are often distracted when talking or listening to their family members. We tell our loved ones, “You’re #1, then show them through our actions, they’re #10.”  When they get to work the next day, its like they never left. There is no recharge, so people typically start off with low pay-off tasks first thing in the morning, like email.

At the end of every day, do a brain dump of things to do and things you don’t want to forget while its still fresh in your mind. Planning is best done at the end of your day when you’re “out of gas” mentally, not first thing in the morning. Go home and enjoy your evening, your family, and recharge. The reason the mind worries at night is that it is more afraid of the unknown than the known. By planning at the end of the day you will actually look more forward to work.  The end of every day is “spring board” for the next day.

95% of all the people that I evaluate have no mental closure. Try this and come back for the next blog on PART 2.

Let me know what happens when you try this…Ken Zeigler