How to Eliminate or Minimize Category 1 Tasks (Stuff You Have to Do)
The goal is to figure out how to eliminate or minimize “Category 1 Tasks,” that is, things that you have to do, but don’t want to do…or maybe a better way to say it is “but wouldn’t do if you didn’t have to.”
Examples of Category 1 Tasks include things like
- Laundry
- Shopping
- Paying bills
- Errands
- Cooking (usually)
- Chores (e.g., cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden)
- Routine work (for me, the non-creative stuff like sending out invoices, cranking out documents, arranging travel, making revisions, etc.)
- Helping other people do things…okay, this one can be on the border between 1 and 2.
The question is, how can we reduce these things without getting in trouble? Our choices for dealing with Category 1 tasks would logically appear to be
Options for Getting Rid of Them
- Delegate them
- Obselete them
- Avoid them by not committing to them in the first place
- Avoid them by just not doing them
Options for Minimizing Them
- Figure out how to do them faster
- Figure out how to automate them
- Figure out how to do them less frequently
These all sound good in theory…but really, how do you do it?
Options for Getting Rid of Them
1. Delegate them–Not always an option, especially for personal tasks. Still, there are probably things that could be handed-off to kids, businesses, lower-cost resources. The office manager where I worked years ago used the rule “if it is recurring work, such as cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, etc., delegate it. If it is a project, i.e., has a defined beginning and end, then do it yourself.”
The downside of delegating is that you have to be willing to give up some level of control. And, you won’t be able to completely delegate, that is, you won’t be able to hand it off, walk away, and never think about it again. Finally, it can help to “look micro.” Maybe you can’t have the kids do the laundry but you can have them fold clothes, put things away.
2. Obselete them–Here is where technology can maybe work or maybe it actually add work instead. Paying bills on-line saves lots of minutes writing checks and addressing envelopes. (But in some cases, it may still be faster to balance your checkbook using the paper statement.)
Quite often, the tried and true “time and motion” study can help you really understand the work and where your time is really going. This method will work well if used for a number of household tasks. Like anything, you have to observe the work closely for a little while to be able to find opportunities for improvement (and to see where you are doing things just because you are used to doing them).
3. Avoid them by not committing to them in the first place.
There are always those opportunities to take on new responsibilities. That committee you are asked to join. That volunteer activity that you are uniquely qualified for. They may be fun at first but it is important to be careful with commitments. Often it seems like the time commitment is minor. But, when things get going, they tend to expand rather than contract.
4. Avoid them by just not doing them
Well, #4 is a non-issue. By definition, if it is something you have to do, you don’t have the option to avoid it. For example, paying taxes. You can try to just not pay them but sooner or later, it will come back to bite you. Same with not mowing the lawn or maintaining the house…in these situations, it is usually pay me some now or lots later.
OK, what about at least reducing the drain on your time?
1. Figure out how to do them faster.
This is another case where technology can help. But another, low-tech approach is simply to avoid peak traffic. Going to the home improvement (or grocery) store on Saturday takes a lot longer than during the week. If your lunch hour is flexible, you can probably get rid of a lot of miscellaneous errands by doing them at 11am on a Tuesday. It is probably too obvious to mention that making a list is important. Obviously, a list will help prevent having to go back for things you forgot. But, I find that a list also helps me to focus–just get what I can for and go with no distractions or trying to remember “is that everything?”
Another low-tech approach is to understand your personal energy level at different times during the day. For me, writing is much easier before noon. After noon, or even worse, after dinner, is no time for me to do something that requires mental energy. But if I do something active, I can get quite a bit done. (This is partly why I think facilitating meetings works better when you use a flipchart instead of typing on a computer–the movement, even though not extreme, generates energy.)
2. Figure out how to automate them. By automate, I mean get them done with no effort…you don’t have to remember or do anything. About the only thing in that category that comes to mind is the auto-bill paying function many banks offer.
3. Figure out how to do them less frequently. We have found significant time savings in managing our grocery shopping process. We put together a weekly menu and, as a result, make fewer trips (ideally, just one) to the store.
Ultimately, it might just come down to continually pushing yourself to do things as quickly as possible. In the case of category 1 tasks, working at a leisurely pace to allow reflection and creativity is pointless. The only good thing about these tasks is getting them done and over with.
Filed under: Pete's Blog | No Comments »