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Smart Goals, Prioritising And Mini Tasks.

Objective: To understand that my current goals need to be verified and prioritised. To create a list of verified and prioritised Mini tasks to stabilise my current position.

Date : 29/08/2016

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Shaf

Uploaded by : Shaf
Uploaded on : 29/08/2016
Subject : Business Skills

SMART Goals, Prioritising and Mini Tasks.

Objective:
  • To understand that my current goals need to be verified and prioritised.
  • To create a list of verified and prioritised Mini tasks to stabilise my current position.
  • IdentifyHave you sat down recently and looked at your current goals and duties and given them some serious thought?


    In all fairness you may have started out with clear transparent sensible structured goals and along the way something happened and slowly but surely you find yourself meandering dangerously away from your initial intent?

    A well-known method of goal setting is SMART. Specific, Measureable, Achievable, realistic and timed. Use this to verify that you are manifesting your vision and not just being busy for the sake of being busy.

    Examples of goals could be:

  • To have a 4 part mini online course about fly fishing, of 30 minutes per section in two weeks’ time.
  • Write a blog on the best locations you have fished in London by the end of today and get feedback or likes.
  • Contact and submit an article about the latest fly fishing accessories to 3 professional fishing magazines, by the end of month
  • Take 20 pictures of people fly fishing in London’s top locations.
  • Research the latest news on fishing tackle boxes online.
  • Interview a fly fisherman’s top 10 fly rods.
  • Advertise your mini course in 3 professional fishing magazines.
  • When you have done this you will need to prioritise them. This is when you place each task or duty in logical order relative to each other and also with the most urgent to your stakeholder’s, your cash flow and your vision. If you think of each as either important and needed asap that’s a start.

    Personally, it would make sense to look at cash flow as the most important of the areas mentioned. You can then place stakeholder’s desires, and then your future vision.

    AnalyseHow can we map these into your reality?

    The Eisenhower Decision Matrix

     UrgentNon UrgentimportantNow

    Later

     

    Not importantoutsourceReject 

    You may have seen the Eisenhower decision matrix (The above table is derived from it) but never known its name. This well-known grid is based on the 34th president of the USA (term: 1953-1961)  Dwight D. Eisenhower: who was reputed to have said: "I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." From the above grid that was derived from that statement one can only assume that he had only tasks that could be outsourced or done later!

    Where ever the grid comes from, it allows a method to prioritise and streamline tasks where you can find no other rule.

    If we add a red amber and green traffic light situation to it you can see what needs to be done now by you or others, what can wait (whosoever does it) and what really need not bother you.

    Now would be Bright green

    Outsource would be darker green

    Later would be amber

    Reject would be red.

    Let’s apply the grid to the goals and issues above to get an idea of how this could work.

    Time and sequence order is the key to placing tasks in the right box..

  • To film a 4 part mini online course about fly fishing, of 30 minutes per section in two weeks’ time.
  • Write a blog on the best locations you have fished in London by the end of today and get feedback or likes.
  • Contact and submit an article about the latest fly fishing accessories to 3 professional fishing magazines, by the end of month
  • Take 20 pictures of people fly fishing in London’s top locations.
  • Research the latest news on fishing tackle boxes online.
  • Interview a fly fisherman’s top 10 fly rods.
  • Advertise your mini course in 3 professional fishing magazines
  •  UrgentNon Urgentimportant

    Now

     

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Write a blog on the best locations you have fished in London by the end of today and get feedback or likes.

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Advertise your mini course in 3 professional fishing magazines


     

     

    Later

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp To film a 4 part mini online course about fly fishing, of 30 minutes per section in two weeks’ time.

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Contact and submit an article about the latest fly fishing accessories to 3 professional fishing magazines, by the end of month


     

     

    Not important

    Outsource

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Take 20 pictures of people fly fishing in London’s top locations.

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Research the latest news on fishing tackle boxes online.

    · nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Interview a fly fisherman’s top 10 fly rods

     

    Reject






     


    You can now place these in logical order in a timeline or calendar of events and carry them out knowing that they make sense when completing.

    Don’t forget, this depends on the speed of your business completing its tasks which can vary from company to conpany and team to team and person to person. This is covered later in SCRUM.

    Now

  • Write a blog on the best locations you have fished in London by the end of today and get feedback or likes.
  • Advertise your mini course in 3 professional fishing magazines
  • Outsource

  • Take 20 pictures of people fly fishing in London’s top locations.
  • Research the latest news on fishing tackle boxes online.
  • Interview a fly fisherman’s top 10 fly rods
  • Later

  • To film a 4 part mini online course about fly fishing, of 30 minutes per section in two weeks’ time.
  • Contact and submit an article about the latest fly fishing accessories to 3 professional fishing magazines, by the end of month

  • Some people skip this step in the hope that they can just do things faster or are eager to get going hoping things will be clearer as they go. The old adage: “Work smarter not harder” will soon make itself felt if you try that.

    It’s best to take a little time and get this right so you can relax later on knowing that you have planned this stage correctly which reduces stress and allows for you to focus on giving value when executing.

    I personally have to plan for 450+ kids for a 40 week period each year and this means multiple linked lessons that have to make sense have congruency and not feel disjointed. I can look at the time I actually have with them and then omit or reject areas that are not important or essential in order to fit the best stuff in.

    That can take up to two weeks pure hard work planning researching thinking about content and relationships and timing and just plain common sense and by using the Decision matrix. I never start new tasks at the end of a term when the kids are winding down for a holiday and I never place a writing task before the kids have time to research. You don’t have to prioritise and verify workload but if you really want to reduce stress, and improve productivity it’s a jolly good way to go about it and I strongly advise it.

    DesignWrite down 20 SMART goals you have this month from big to small. Don’t worry about the order. Just add the ones that come to you and make sure they are as small as you can get them.

    You will know they are small enough when you think: “I could finish that in a couple of hours or so”.

    nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp

    Try to chunk them into really tiny tasks. I call them ‘Mini Tasks’ for a reason. If they are too big, you won’t even get started!


     UrgentNon Urgentimportant

    Now

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Later



     

     

     

     

     


     

     

    Not important

    Outsource

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Reject



     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    Here is a Decision Matrix for the next month. Take time to chunk down your goals into smaller parts until you have all your tasks placed.



    Place your new order of tasks here:


     TaskDone (Y/N)1 nbsp2 nbsp3 nbsp4 nbsp5 nbsp6 nbsp7 nbsp8 nbsp9 nbsp10 nbsp11 nbsp12 nbsp13 nbsp14 nbsp15 nbsp16 nbsp17 nbsp18 nbsp19 nbsp20 nbsp

    DevelopIn the next week see how many of these actionable mini tasks you can achieve. Tick off each one as you go.



    TestAfter a week come back and take a real good look at the results so far. How do you feel you have done? Is there a better way for you to do each?

    If you have to, redo the table and this time add tasks you know you can do, not impossible ones that you ‘should’ but can’t! Keep chunking down and adapting them until you get a series of thing you know you can and will do. It’s not a matter of always going out of your comfort zone, there is quite a bit within your comfort zone you can do and do really well. Use that for now.

    EvaluateWhat other ideas do you have about using SMART goals, prioritising and chunking by yourself to realign your tasks now?








     


    What have I discovered?
  • I understand why that my current goals need to be verified and prioritised.
  • I possess a list of verified and prioritised Mini Tasks to stabilise my current position.
  • This resource was uploaded by: Shaf

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