Since it’s impossible to add another hour to the 24-hour day, I need an alternative. How can I find time to do all the things I need to complete at work? No doubt, many managers/supervisors deal with this challenge.

How have you overcome the "I can’t get everything done" syndrome?

— Ed, Manager

Turn "I can't get anything done" into a success story
by Meryl K. Evans, Editor, PSJ

I believe most of you can relate to this story: Jim arrives at the office bright and early. He opens his to-do list with over 20 items and immediately feels overwhelmed. His day is off to a weak start without the energy he needs to accomplish the day’s work. He checks off an item by lunchtime, but the euphoria of crossing out a task doesn’t last long as the boss stops by and adds two more projects.

This process happens to many of us every day. Is it any wonder Jim is burning out? That long list of tasks weighs on his mind as he attempts to do each task. Forty-plus hours of this feeling can bring almost anyone down. Take action and conquer your tasks with the following approaches:

• Use a time management system.

• Rely on the holding pen.

Use a time management system
 

In my first job after college, I received a Franklin Planner, complete with training on how to use it. The planner stayed with me for about eight years before I completely transitioned to a handheld device. Thanks to the handy planner, I have stayed on top of my work and personal lives.

Dwight Aylesworth, principal with DDDB, also relies on Franklin Covey after researching a time management system that would meet his needs in identifying and recording critical and repetitive tasks. Aylesworth evaluates his list of tasks and takes one of the following actions:

1. Refuse

2. Delay

3. Delegate

4. Accept

He says that saying no can be intimidating, but it works in managing the available time. Also, plenty of handhelds come with personal information managers. Or if you prefer not to use a device, research software and Web-based applications.

Rely on the holding pen

I really enjoyed an article R. James Steffen contributed a few years ago on how to cure TODLIF sickness. TODLIF? To-do-list frustration. Steffen also conducts Webinars — you may have seen postings for them in this newsletter. His article provides a simple and doable solution. The problem is that we don’t feel a sense of accomplishment because we didn’t get all of the 20+ things on our list. In reality, we only need to get a handful of to-dos done today.
 

Begin a day by selecting tasks with the highest priority. Make a list containing three to five tasks you can realistically do in one day. Put the rest of the tasks in a Holding Pen. If another to-do pops up, add that to the Holding Pen, too. Meanwhile, keep working to finish your priority list for the day. When you check off all of the priority items, you feel a sense of accomplishment. Prepare to stop saying, "I can’t get anything done!" and start saying, "I got it all done!" The feeling empowers you to feel better about yourself and your work.

Meryl K. Evans is the content maven behind this newsletter. She has written for The Dallas Morning News, PC Today, InformIT and others. Stop by her site or check out her blog.