Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent college grad, we all live and work in the same world and for all of us, time management isn’t the real problem anymore… “in our day the true struggle is focus management” (Dave Crenshaw). E-mails dinging, texts buzzing and calendar notifications make getting distracted pretty easy and staying focused pretty challenging.
Many organizations have come up with a series of tips and tricks for increasing productivity at work, like taking regular breaks and setting personal deadlines, but a recent study from the University of Missouri- St. Louis shows that it really comes down to one simple principle, called an MIT: the most important task.
Knowing what you should be working on and how you should go about accomplishing it right now provides direction and inspires motivation. Instead of making a list of all the tasks you should be completing or you hope to complete, simplify each day to THE most important thing and put all of your energy into it. You will be less scatter brained and more productive, giving each task its turn at your full attention.
As an added bonus, research shows that sticking to a daily MIT correlates to higher levels of happiness and energy!
So sit back, clear your mind of the zillion things you have to do eventually, and ask yourself, “what is my MIT TODAY?”