Workforce Learns Boon of Prioritizing Tasks

All government employees regardless of the status of employment are required to render eight (8) hours of work every day or forty (40) hours of work every week so much so much so that it can be said that every minute of one’s working time has to be engaged with a certain task.

As an employee of the Division of Malaybalay City, I have often experienced that 8 hour working time is not always adequate to complete my daily task. There are also instances that I am confused in choosing which task to be done first. Other employees in the office whom I have the chance to converse with have expressed the same findings that I do.

The latest innovation in Time Management introduced in the Division of Malabalay City dubbed the “ABCDE Method” has given me a new outlook in how to manage my working time. The ABCDE method is from the book of Brian Tracy and Dr. Peter Chee entitled “12 Disciplines of Leadership Excellence”.

In the book, the authors define time management as the “ability to control the sequence of events”. They explain further that managing one’s time requires the determination of what to do first, what to do second, and what not to do at all. And one is always free to choose the sequence of events.

I believed that one’s way of choosing the sequence of events calls for the ability to manage time.  Therefore one has to manage time in order to accomplish more. Benjamin Tregoe as quoted in the book said that “The very worst use of time is to do very well what should not be done at all.”

The ABCDE Method will help one to manage his working time. This is how Brian Tracy and Dr. Peter Chee explain its use.

 “Use the ABCDE method of time management, which is based on the fact that something is important to the degree to which it has significant potential consequences. Something is unimportant to the degree to which is has low or no consequences at all.”

Go over your list and put one of these five letters next to each item before you begin:

  • An A task is something that you must do, with high potential consequences for doing it or not doing it.
  • A B task is something that you should do, when you are caught up with your A tasks, and have only mild consequences for doing it or not doing it.
  • A C task is something that would be nice to do, but which has no consequences at all. Whether you do it makes no difference to our company or your career.
  • A D activity is something that you can delegate to someone else. Even of you are comfortable doing it, and you’ve done it in the past, you must delegate everything that you can to free up your time to do just those things that have important potential consequences.
  • An E item is something that should be eliminated altogether. It may have had some value in the past, but now it is unimportant. It may be fun and easy, but it is largely a waste of time.”

The authors further explained that once you have organized your list with the ABCDE method, revisit the list and number each A item. Assign to it the values A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on. Do the same with your B activities. You then begin to work on your A-1 priority and discipline yourself to do nothing else until this item is completed.

Accordingly, you can do your B and C tasks later, but only when your A tasks have been completed. Never give in to the temptation to clear up small things first. Start on your A-1 task and then concentrate single-mindedly until it’s complete.

The Top Brass of the Division of Malaybalay City is currently using this time management strategy and per latest weekly evaluation, the results are very encouraging according the Schools Division Superintendent. 

By: Roxel M. Gimarangan