Done!

When the tasks waiting to be done keep mounting, the skill of prioritizing is more than essential. Today's Done! is about the urgent-important matrix; the splendid tool for knowing what to prioritize right now.

If you have a tendency to accumulate all kinds of documents and other miscellaneous items on your desk and then get distracted by them when you need to focus on a single task, this week?s Done! was as made for you. Today's Done! is about a number of concrete solutions which will help you get control over any office-desk-mess, and you will before you know it have an empty desk.

The Holidays are approaching and with them time to stop and refocus, reflect on the year that passed and start afresh in the New Year. Today's Done! is about reflection and making a fresh start when you get back to work.

Being optimistic is always a positive quality, but being positive in the sense of unrealistic in terms of for example sticking to deadlines, getting things done etc, isn't... Today's Done! is about a trick for getting even the things which continuously fall through the cracks done.

Last week I promoted the mind-map, and as if that wasn't enough, I will continue doing so this week! In today's Done!, I present you with another five ways in which to use a mind-map, and invite you to indulge in this multi-tool for personal structure.

There are many ways of getting an overview of things, but none beats the mind-map. In today's Done!, I provide you with five powerful usages of my favourite multi-tool - the mind-map.

Piles of paper everywhere, notes scattered about, Post-its on every available surface... Sound familiar? In today's Done!, the physical inbox gets promoted as what saves a messy desk from the possible chaos caused by a continuous inflow of physical material.

Why, why, why, why, why? No, it's not a lament about the current economic climate, it is a sign that something is improving. In today's Done!, mr Ishikawa and mr Toyoda teach you how to solve your business problems creatively and effectively!

Last week, we spoke about the benefit of doing immediately all those tasks that demand less than two minutes to complete. Today, Done! is about how you can apply this two-minute-rule to quickly make progress on several fronts (e.g. projects) simultaneously, even if you don't have two minutes to spare (and haven't had for quite a while).

Today's short, quick edition of Done! is about how a simple rule of thumb helps you get more done than you have ever expected.

When we arrive at work on Monday morning, isn't it tempting to strike up a blues tune, lamenting the heap of tasks that we have to do this week? Today, Done! is about a simple way to address this Monday-deadlock.

Some people you meet infrequently, or they are hard to get hold of by phone. Once you are in contact, you would like to get as much done as possible. You do not want discover after the meeting that you forgot to discuss a certain topic and immediately have to start chasing the person in question again. Today, Done! is about how a method that helps you remember everything you have to discuss at the meeting.

To be effective on your own is one thing, but what about when we work together with other people, in a project or in any form of team? Today, Done! presents ten things you gain time from by having agreed upon with those you work with.

In times like these, it is more important than ever to work efficiently in the sense that we spend our time doing the right things. Today, Done! presents a simple method for making sure that you prioritize the right tasks.

Are you a hard-working professional and yet, does it sometimes feel as if you are standing still and do not move forward? Today, Done! is about how to make it easy to check tasks and goals off so that you firmly make progress in your business.

From time to time, does it happen to you that you get stuck in a voice mail loop where the progress stops and you leave a message and call back and leave message and ...? Today, Done! is about how to proceed forward, even if you just end up in the voice mail of the one you are calling.

Sometimes, a well-structured, systematic way of working feels too mechanical. Today, Done! is about how to regularly make space for the unexpected.

When was the last time you had an empty e-mail inbox? Do you remember the feeling of freedom? Today, Done! lets you experience what a productivity boost an empty inbox makes.

Are you in the habit of writing a new to-do-list every morning? Do you have to transfer tasks from yesterday's list to today's list, because you didn't have time for what you had in mind? Today, Done! is about how to gain time and simplicity by letting your list be more complete and live over time.

When you decide to improve your personal structure in some way, it is easy to slip back into old habits, into a rut. Today, Done! is about how to swiftly get back on track.