Avoid Being Overwhelmed With the Four D’s
You probably know the stressful and frustrating feeling of having too much on your plate. The next time you have too many tasks, try the Four D’s method: delete, defer, delegate, or reduce one of your priorities.
Product Manager Jackie Bavaro makes this suggestion to Asana. To better control your time, consider any of these four options the next time you feel overwhelmed.
- Delete: Sometimes you just need to say no to certain tasks. Of course, if someone has held you accountable, you want them to know why this might not be the best use of your time. For example, I once had a client who asked me to send a video transcript of an interview for a video that I was producing and editing. They didn’t use the transcripts for anything, and at the beginning of the project I didn’t really think about it. But after a while I realized how time-consuming and pointless this is. All it took to remove this task was to inform the client.
- Defer: You may not have time now, but you will get it later. In this case, postponing the task may be the best option. Just remember to set a reminder to keep track of this.
- Delegate: Can someone else take on this task? If so, it is better to delegate authority. Bavaro proposes to fully transfer responsibility: “Now the teammate you delegated can own both the ‘boring’ and cool parts of the project and can be proud to see it through to the end.
- Reduce: You may find ways to reduce the time you spend on a task. Can you downsize and tackle the most important parts of the project? Going back to my deletion example, I actually asked the client first if I could only send him the transcripts of what I used in the video. I tried to suggest reducing the task; luckily he let me remove it.
Obviously, these are not options that we did not yet know existed. But in your hottest moment, it’s an easy way to refer to whatever you can do to get something off your plate.
More tips can be found in Bavaro’s complete post.
How to become the master of your time | Asana through 99U