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My Time Management Model - The Just Now Part

South African expressions are unique.   And Just Now is a really special one.  Its meaning can range from 1 minute away to never.

When it comes to Time Management, though, Just Now, can be used to resolve the less urgent issues, which do need to happen, just not now.   Where I went badly wrong with this model, at the beginning, was with the methods I used (and still do, sometimes).
  • Made notes in various notepads and diary systems;
  • Used the Outlook reminder system
  • Converted the eMails back to unread
  • Set up tasks in Outlook
The above can only work if you read each one of them, every day, otherwise they simply add to the accumulation of tasks.

So what does work?   The only way for me is to schedule time to handle the load.  I started by blocking out parts of my diary for "catch up", and, of course, everybody who could see my diary kept asking whether that time was available, the same happened if I put in Private time.   Now, I block off the time for a specific named task, and that works much better.

The problem with Just Now tasks, is that they quickly become Right Now problems, if not handled timeously, so I do attach deadlines and urgency levels to them, too.

Using my phone to send myself messages is another key way I remember to do things, and remind others, too.   This sometimes happens at 3 am, when I wake up, thinking about something that I should have done, or a great marketing idea.    Using my personal email to send myself business reminders means that as I walk into the office, my messages to myself are in my InBox.   And I treat my messages as a high priority!   It also helps me to sleep better...


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