19Jul 07
Show me a way to get more things done…
posted by
“Show me a way to get more things done with my time, and I will pay you anything within reason.” To some degree or the other each one of us have had a thought along those lines. From the ditch digger to CEOs of companys across our nation, there seems to be a tendency towards insufficient use of time and accomplishment of responsibilities.
Company president Charles Schwab was willing to pay $250,000 for such advice. In an interview with pioneer management consultant, Ivy Lee, Charles Schwab successfully turned a new page in personal productivity. And so now, the promised advice worth 1/4 of a million dollars:
Lee handed him (Schwab) a blank sheet of paper and told him to take a few minutes that evening to write down in order of priority the six most important tasks he had to do. The next day he was to work on item number one until he had finished it, then pass on to item two, and so on down the list. At the end of the day he should tear up the list and make a new one for the following day.
“Don’t be concerned,” Lee advised, “if you finish only one or two tasks. Your main objective is not necessarily to do them all, but to spend your time on those that are the most important. In other words, do the first things first. If you can’t finish all the tasks on the list by this method, you couldn’t by any other method, either. And without some system, you’d probably not even have decided which were the most important. When you have tried this method send me a check for what you think it’s worth.”
Schwab’s life was about to change for the better and cause a wise company president to give away $25,000 (worth $250,000 today) of his money. This advice can be taken to one more level. As we filter through countless opportunities, cries for help, and responsibilities, how will we ever be able to list them all and reach completion or atleast satisfaction of achievement?
3 Questions (and no, I was not the originator 
):
1. Have I completed the opportunities and responsibilities directed by authorities & the Lord?
2. How will this benefit me in 10 years?
3. How will involvement in this activity benefit me eternally?
With this filter in place, we can integrate Mr. Lee’s advice with success. On the cross, Christ peacefully said, “It is finished.” How could only 3 years of work be considered completion? There were countless people with ailments, many more demons to cast out, angry pharisees to enlighten, many lost to seek, yet Christ’s work was done? One simple phrase could of been Christ’s answer to this probing question: “I have finished the work which thou (God) gavest me to do.” He understood the secret of daily interraction with the Heavenly Father. I am learning that I know little of those I spend little time with. For Christ, this provided daily direction and weeded out activities lacking eternal significance.
Now with this said, go get more things done !
Wow, Joshua. That was an excellent example of salting the oats. And were those important oats! Now that you mention it, I see how true that has been in my life. Ever since Mom got me started off with a checklist of my daily responsibilites, I have been astonished at how much more organized and efficient my daily schedule is whenever I take the time to list the goals I want to accomplish that day. One thing I would add, though. I have found that this daily list is almost worthless without a long-term goal in sight. Therefore it is almost just as important for me to develop weekly, monthly, and annual lists with which I can periodically check my daily one. I guess that is why those three filtering questions are so important–they bring things into perspective! Thanks again for the great advice (and not charging for it!
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Thanks for passing on that great advise Josh! Due to pressing priorities I regret that I will not have time to leave a comment. Sorry, maybe next time.
Thanks for sharing that, Joshua. Here in Focus I don’t have a lot of time so I have to be able to make the most of it. I’ll have to start organizing my list of things to do!
Excellent add-in Daniel. I guess that would be like packing a car with no destination in mind (like the Staddon’s house
). Way to keep your priorities Esther – practical application! Making priorities in Life Focus can be sort of challenging at times I’m sure, James, but may you be blessed with enough time to accomplish your lists.
Just to let you know, Joshua, I shared this with my Team Leader in Life Focus. He really put it to practice and got a whole lot done! I was about ready to ask him for $250,000 for giving him the advice
But really, writing things down, setting priority, and working from start to finish is timely advice. It has helped lots of people.
Praise the Lord for the encouraging report, James! Planning our work and working our plan sure brings a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I think the Lord follows His plan fairly well, why shouldn’t we? Now, we need to synchronize our plan with His – and therein lies the Christian walk!
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