activities. As soon as they arrive, they find someone to chat
with, read the newspaper, check their e-mail, get a cup of
coffee, and generally begin coasting easily through the day.
But whatever you do repeatedly soon becomes a habit. It
is unfortunate that the great majority of people at work
today have established the habit of wasting most of their
time on activities that contribute nothing to their businesses
or to their careers. Don’t let this happen to you.
Delegate Everything Possible
Getting back to the ABCDE method, a D activity is something
that you can delegateto someone else. The rule is that you
should delegate everything that you possibly can to other
people to free up more time for you to engage in your A
activities. Your A activities, and their successful completion,
largely determine the entire course of your career.
An E activity is something that you should eliminatealto-
gether. After all, you can only get your time under control if you
stop doing things that are no longer necessary for you to do.
It is normal and natural for people to slip into a comfort
zone in the course of their work and career. They become
comfortable doing certain activities in a certain way. Even
after they have been promoted to higher-level responsibili-
ties, they continually slip back into doing things that are no
longer really necessary, or that other people could do equally
as well, or better.
Ask yourself, “What would happen if I did not engage in
this activity at all?” If it would make little or no difference to
your business or career, it is a prime candidate for elimination.
CREATE YOUR DAILY “TO-DO” LIST 37