One of the most important concepts we have seen in any environment where we need to get things done is the POWER OF THE ROUTINE TASK. Basically, we make any work that needs to be accomplished part of a routine, say, in the morning, when we begin our workaday activities.

Some of these tasks are items we do every day. Some of them we only do for two weeks or even less time. The point is that they get done because we set aside a few minutes a day to work on them. This approach is a rational alternative to the unacceptable “I didn’t have time to do it.” Of course, the power of the routine task requires a smidgen of planning in order to be effective, but effective it is.

I wrote my first book in 30 days using this approach. Every day, I set myself a specific number of pages and graphics that needed to be completed that day. I held to his approach and I was able to generate 17 pages a day! And I still performed all my functions at the day job!!!

So, how do you start?
1. List things that need to get done that somehow seem to be falling through the cracks.
2. Plan out some time slices in which to perform micromovements that will lead to completion of the task
3. Make sure you set aside time before you get started on other projects for the day.
4. Review your results EVERY DAY, preferably with somebody else.
5. Use a tickler file or other reminder method to see to it that the jobs are completed on schedule.
6. Celebrate your success

We have used this approach, so we know it works…