If you are like me there are probably aspects of your job that you procrastinate about or leave for the end of the day….or better yet, for another day. I am guilty of doing that. My dreaded task is filing. I just don’t find it exciting and I usually end up with paper cuts. I will find just about any excuse to push it off for later.
There are lots of different strategies around how to organize your daily tasks or your ‘to-do’ list. Some people say do the easiest/quickest things first thing. Others say do the biggest/hardest thing first. No matter how you tackle your to-do list, my challenge to you is to think outside of your to-do list.
Thinking outside of your to-do list requires you to step back and think of the bigger picture.
No matter your position or job title everything you do has an impact on the organization that you work for. Every position is important and has value. Everyone from the President, Management, to Front Line Staff and Housekeeping contribute to the overall success of the organization that you work for. Every task has an impact on someone else….a ripple effect.
Every position works in symbiosis with another position or several.
So while you think a mundane task may not be important – it is to someone else.
Think about how your work will affect the other people around you. Be present, do your best work….and be consistent…. While there is a lot of talk recently about employees and their lack of engagement on the job, you do have to take responsibility, as an employee, for getting your work done.
So think outside your to-do list.
Time to tackle that filing….
Love this, I wish some of my colleagues held your views 😉
Excellent point, Chantal! We need to remember there is a customer-supplier relationship in work, meaning in a process there are hand-offs. We cannot shirk our task because the overall process will become broken then. We need to do some work because it our responsibility. Period. Thanks! Jon
Good post. I’m going through some of these issues as well..