Four Corollaries to the Law of Three

There is always an answer to this question. What can you, and only you,
do that if done well will make areal difference Whatever your answer is to this question, you should be working on that most of the time. This will almost invariably be one of your big three.”
Review your list of activities for the day and ask this question If I
were to be called out of town fora month and could only do one thing on this list, which one task would I want to be sure to complete?”
Whatever your answer to that question is, is probably what you should start working on first thing in the morning.
Overcoming Procrastination
Your ability to overcome procrastination and get started on your most important task is one of the most valuable disciplines that you can develop.
As it happens, everyone procrastinates. Highly productive people procrastinate just as do unproductive people. What is the difference The answer is that highly productive people procrastinate on low-value tasks.
They practice creative procrastination They consciously decide upon those things that they are not going to do until later.
Unproductive people procrastinate on tasks of high value—those few tasks that can make all the difference to their companies and in their careers.
Here are some proven ways to eliminate procrastination. Make a list of everything you have to do each day before you begin. We have already covered this in detail. Take your most important task, and make a list of all the steps you could take to complete that particular task. Practice the salami slice method. Slice off one piece of a large task and do only that. Often this will get you launched into the project, and your procrastination will disappear. Try the Swiss cheese technique. Select one piece of a major task, and resolve to complete that one action immediately. Often, this will break the dam of procrastination and launch you into the larger task. Reward yourself. Give yourself a specific reward, such as a cup of coffee or a brief break for completing one of the subtasks on your list.

6. Work in ten-minute blocks. Instead of worrying about completing the entire task, resolve to work full blast for ten minutes to get started. Have everything you need at hand when you begin. The act of preparing to work often launches you into the job itself. Apply the 80/20 rule to a large task. This rule says that the first percent of the task often contains 80 percent of the value of the entire job. Resolve to do the first 20 percent, and you will often break the back of procrastination on that task.
The key to success in your work is task completion. For this, perhaps the single most powerful time management technique is “single-handling.”
This means that once you start work on your most important task, you discipline yourself to focus and concentrate 100 percent on that task until it is complete.

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