I admit it, I have this one! I am always trying to get one more thing done before walking out the door. Then, when I should be out the door, another one-more-thing pops into my mind that is absolutely necessary for my next appointment; a project to take on my business trip, a call I promised to make…
The bad new is that there is always one more thing to do!!! This bad habit has made me late for some appointments (a very bad thing for a human performance coach!). Over time I’ve been able to conquer this challenge, though sometimes it rears it’s ugly head to tease me again. I now think about my life like a game of Chess… always thinking several moves ahead.
Here is my solution:
- Delegate more details to the team
- Pad appointment preparation time by 15 minutes or more… need to leave by 7:45 to make an appointment punctually, tell yourself you need to leave at 7:30.
- Box yourself in with an accountability partner. (Especially good if you do not respect your own boundaries!… like if you read the previous point and thought, “Ya, but then I know I have padded the time and I’ll do one more thing, or two or three!”).
- Leave the office each day with a clear desktop (even if your office is down the hall!) and a plan for the next day— start your next day fresh and clear.
- Doing one more thing is a choice. Choose not to do certain tasks now but pack some work to take to an appointment, cuz you will be waiting for other person since you will be early for your appointment!