Bella the Boxer's Time Management Tip #3: Finish What You Start

Today, I'm going to share time management tip #3 from my book, Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success. (Click on the links to read Tip #1 and Tip #2).

Tip #3: Finish What You Start

If you've ever tried to interrupt a Boxer while she is digging a hole, you know that she'll whine and obsess until she gets to finish the job. That's because Boxers (all dogs, really) get a great sense of accomplishment and empowerment from marking something off as "done," i.e., digging the biggest, widest and deepest hole on Earth.

In other words, we like to finish what we start.

Humans need to learn that an "almost done" takes up valuable mindshare. Working on tasks in fits and starts can also be a highly inefficient use of time, whether you are digging holes or sitting at the computer.

I know some time management gurus who say you should block off specific times of the day to read and respond to e-mail—a half-hour in the morning and another half-hour in the afternoon, for example. The problem is that most people don't take enough time to read and respond carefully in their race against the clock. They skim through the first few sentences and send a hasty, piecemeal response that requires even more back-and-forth. Now they are wasting the time of two people!

It's better to prepare yourself mentally and physically to finish what you start. Clear your desk, organize your papers, shut the door and drop your furry friend off at dog day care for a few hours of supervised fun (don't worry, we'll survive. We might even have a lot of fun!). Break tasks down into pieces and get to work. And if there are tasks that you never seem to finish (or that stand in the way of finishing more important things), then outsource them.

Case in point: My Mom is a neatnik with the superhuman ability to see every single dog hair in the office and house. She finally realized that her time was better spent with clients, not with picking dog hair out of the photocopy machine, and hired a cleaning service.

Finally, if there is something that you really, truly can't seem to finish, then maybe it wasn't meant to be. Take it off your action plan and get rid of the guilt that goes along with.

Now, make some time to go out and play. Woof! Woof!

[image error]