In all of the scramble to get jobs done recently, the fire-to-fire scenario for projects has become a big item on my fix-it list. Nothing drives me more crazy than running from job to job without thought about best process or improvement.

So, how do I carve a whole lot of items off of my to do list and focus on providing that better level of service? My answer came from an exchange with Rachel Cornell of ProNagger.com, in which she reminded me that for a project to get done, a person has to actually want to do the work. Nagging doesn’t work on a people who avoid tasks because they don’t actually want to do them; nagging works on people who need encouragement and accountability to keep them on track.

I’ve been creating The List daily, and it’s out of control. There’s no way I can get it all done, which freaks me out, resulting in me dragging my heels on the jobs. I build stories about how there’s no way I can succeed, rather than doing the jobs and succeeding.

Oh. Wait. That looks like a waste of time. [insert me smacking myself upside the head here]

So, only 1 goal today: get as far as I can on each of the items on my list by using the timer method.

I set the timer for a period of time (in today’s case, 30 minutes). I sprint on a task for 30 minutes or until it’s done, which ever comes first. Then I go take a quick break, refresh my glass of water, and do it again. And again. And again. My projected outcome: at the end of the day I can walk away from my desk knowing I accomplished something and I can show progress to an entire list of clients.

Let’s see how it works.