But, no matter how many issues I moved off my desk, the next day there'd be a few more there waiting for me. I measured my productivity and success by how many problems I could solve. Often I found myself solving the same issues over and over again.
Sound familiar?
When I read Gino Wickman's book, Traction®, I was struck by the simple concept of compartmentalizing: prioritizing and placing everything in the right compartment to make it easier to solve business problems. This is also the essence of great time management. Once compartmentalized, we simply decide what we will do -- both short-term and long-term -- to resolve each issue.
To solve business problems, we must get good at prioritizing and sorting out the pile first. Take each issue and decide:
In one of those long-term planning meetings, we take the list and decide which issues will become our most important goals for the year, which will become our critical priorities for the next quarter, which will be resolved in that meeting, and which will just stay on the long-term Issues List to be addressed another day.
If you're stuck under a big pile of business problems, start compartmentalizing. It's the fastest and best way to get moving again. Watch this video to learn more: