Continue reading »]]> http://stephen.paytonplace.us/archives/6004/feed 0 http://stephen.paytonplace.us/archives/4074 http://stephen.paytonplace.us/archives/4074#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +0000 ~SP http://Lifehacker-5321204 According to the Harvard Business blog, you can organize an eight-hour work day and keep it on track by creating a ritual that'll only take a total of 18 minutes each day.

Photo by koyochi

Harvard Business blog's Peter Bregman outlines three steps on how to avoid those days when you can barely remember what you intended to accomplish by the time you reach for your keyboard:

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day.
STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus..
STEP 3 (5 Minutes) Review.

Basically, you'll start the day off right by grabbing a sheet of paper and writing down the goals which you can realistically accomplish that day. The important part is to immediately assign time slots to those tasks by order of importance and difficulty because these designated times make you more likely to accomplish your goals and give you a way of tracking your progress once every hour. At the end of the work day, you'll take a few minutes to review not just the last hour, but the entire day. Did you stay on track? What can you do differently tomorrow to retain or improve your productivity?

Check out the full details on this time management ritual on the Harvard Business blog and tell us about how you organize your days and prevent slumps in productivity. Do you have a ritual or do you fly by the seat of your pants and hope for the best? Share your workday time management successes (or failures) in the comments.

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