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Last time I told you about Blanchard’s Quadrants as an alternative means of effective time management.

Even when the Quadrant approach works for you, there is always the possibility that you may get overwhelmed with your To Do List.

It often happens to me and labeling tasks using the ABC approach, trying to eat frogs or other methods does not really help. Time Management is a very personal thing. So here is my best kept secret for managing To Do Lists!

It is simply using the technique of Paired Comparison when one is feeling overwhelmed and you need to take control of the To Do List instead of the other way around.

A simple example, when you were a kid and your parents took you to the pastry shop, did you or did you not compare the size of pastry, (just to check of course)  before settling on the piece to be bought? I did.

The Paired Comparison method uses a simple scoring system for comparing activities. The following example illustrates how this method can be applied:

Suppose I have 5 tasks or activities that I have identified that really need to be done but I cannot decide the hierarchy to complete them.

Here is the list of example tasks or activities to be performed:

1. Make weekly call to parents
2. Respond to emails
3. Pay utility bill
4. Make appointment with client to discuss report
5. Check Facebook for status updates

The way to go about it is to compare each of the options against each other and put a mark against the relatively more important task in each comparison:

–       1 to 2, 1 to 3, 1 to 4, 1 to 5

–       2 to 3, 2 to 4, 2 to 5

–       3 to 4, 3 to 5

–       4 to 5

Let’s say the result is as follows:

1. Make weekly call to parents   xxxx
2. Respond to emails                              x
3. Pay utility bill                                       xx
4. Make appointment with client to discuss report x
5. Check Facebook for status updates

So, the order you would do the tasks in would be 1, 3, 2 or 4 (depending upon which one is more urgent), 5.

There are no hard and fast rules and the importance of each task depends upon your circumstances. For example, for a business that gets customers through their Page on Facebook, task number 5 may be most important.

Last week I also told you about my ebook  Eight tested Commandments for Time Management

If you haven’t seen it yet, then I suggest accessing it because there might just be a commandment or tip in there that can help you ace the time management challenge without angst! Click the link above or the image below and learn more.

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