When you feel that your “plate is too full” at work (read:  every day!) and you wonder how you will have the time to get through your entire pile of paperwork on your desk (and emails in your inbox!), you can start to feel a bit overwhelmed.  In addition, you have to decided where to start AND drum up the motivation to work on that pile of papers for 8 hours.  How do you get the ball rolling?  There is one important rule to follow to maximize productivity when you feel overwhelmed.

STAR RULE:  at the end of every work day, select ONE (that’s right – just one) task to get done the following day and SCHEDULE IT for FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.  If it will involve another employee to complete the project, set a meeting with that employee for first thing in the morning (e.g., 8:30am – 9:00am if your office opens at 8:30am).  If you’re flying solo on the task, ensure that you still SCHEDULE a block of time on your calendar to complete the assignment.  You may even want to block off time in a shared conference room, so you’re not distracted in your office.

Why is this “star rule” so important?  Because once you get the ball rolling, the motivation will flow naturally.  Success leads to more success, and it’s really only the first step that is hard.  It is similar to going to the gym … if you don’t want to go, it’s because you haven’t taken the first step (changing clothes or stepping on the elliptical), and you’re dreading the 45 minutes of cardio that await you.  The same idea can be utilized in this situation as well – you can tell yourself that you only need to take the FIRST step (e.g., lift weights for 5 minutes), and once you start working out, you feel better and you will naturally keep going and finish your workout.

Once you have tried this “star rule”, please respond to this blog and let us know how it worked!  Pretty soon, it will become a habit and you can start each day with a productivity boost!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 8:13 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.