WOW Word-Of-the-Week #494: Accomplishment
January 23, 2014 by Susan Clarke
Accomplishment – something completed successfully.
How would you on rate yourself on completing tasks or assignments? When given a task or project do you start immediately? Do you get caught up in multiple projects and find yourself unable to complete any of them?
This week’s WOW piggy backs off last weeks and includes some strategies from Kevin Stacey’s article titled, “Creating a Sense of Accomplishment.” He writes, “By implementing a few simple time management strategies, you can create a sense of accomplishment every day, no matter how often you are interrupted or side-tracked by other people:
- Divide your daily activities list into two columns: offensive and defensive. The items on the offensive side of the column are tasks on your to-do list. They may be projects with a looming deadline, or they may be usual, predictable activities. The items on the defensive side of the column are reactionary tasks, such as responding to crises, interruptions, voice-mails and e-mails. Your lists will vary greatly according to your industry and how much autonomy you have in planning your day and allocating your time.
- Review your list of offensive items. Ask yourself, “What is one task that I can complete today, or make significant progress towards completing, that will make me feel better about myself, my day, my job, or my work ethic? What achievement would make this day a success?” This task may not be the one you want to do. In fact, it may be the one you have been procrastinating on the most.
Next week I will give you the other two strategies. This week let’s focus is on accomplishment. Do you want to move up in your organization? Do you believe you haven’t moved up as quickly as you thought you should have? How successful are you at accomplishing your assigned tasks or projects on time?