Introducing the Power Hour Concept to Plough Through Mountainous Tasks

Have you ever been totally overwhelmed by a massive task confronting you? Ever felt daunted by the thought of even making a start on such a massive quest? I thought so. Read on...

Recently I suffered a serious injury. I won't bore you with the details other than to say that I underwent major surgery that required many weeks of recovery and painful rehabilitation.

While all that was happening, do you think people stopped demanding things of me? Did companies and utilities stop sending me accounts with strict payment deadlines? Do you think that any of the banks that I deal with stopped expecting me to make the regular repayments on my investments? Did I still have mountains of correspondence flooding into my office and through my Post Office address?

All these things continued to happen. My temporary incapacity was of zero interest to all of them.

My desk looked like a bomb had exploded on it. The in-tray was overflowing. There were notes and reminders taped, pinned and pegged everywhere. My cell phone had dozens of messages saying, "Call back urgently." One person even used the term "super urgent." I rolled my eyes north on that one. My emails were almost bursting my computer apart. Every day the normal humdrum of life kept banking up on me.

I think you get the picture. What could I do? I could hardly move. All I could manage was to try to be patient while everything piled up. Let me say - patience has never been one of my greatest virtues. It was a very depressing time. The mind was willing, the body was not.

Every day the biggest thing on my agenda was rehabilitation - every three hours for half an hour. Oh, and I forgot to mention about several good-natured friends who would drop in unannounced and soak up several hours of my time - cutting right across my strict rehabilitation schedule.

My recovery was slow but steady. But the correspondence and other demands just kept piling up.

What was I going to do? Just looking at the massive amount of work confronting me made me want to do anything else - like pack up and go for a vacation to get away from it all. But eventually I would have to come back and then the task would be even worse.

I needed a plan of attack, a system.

Right then I invented a concept which I dubbed "The Power Hour."

Here is how it works:

First, I got rid of all distractions. I took all the land line telephones off their hooks and I turned off my cell phone. Telephones are the greatest time thieves and distracters that I know. Next, I stopped answering the door. I didn't care who it was. I didn't even look. I closed the door to my office and set a clock with a timer on my desk.

"The Power Hour" was invoked. I even began announcing it to myself. "Power Hour has started." Basically, I did as much as I possibly could for exactly sixty minutes. No distractions, no cups of tea, no snacks, no bathroom breaks, no goofing off. My total focus, concentration and effort went into clearing my backlog of work for one power hour. Total activity.

You can amaze yourself with the amount of work that you can plough through in a Power Hour.

Back it up with another Power Hour later in the day. Give it everything you've got. Repeat the process. One Power Hour on, several normal hours off. Do the same the next day.

Soon the work starts to disappear. This will give you even greater incentive.

So, next time you are faced with a huge task, try the Power Hour technique. One concentrated hour at a time. You will amaze yourself with how much you will achieve.

[If you like this article and would like to use it on your own website or ezine you may do so ONLY if the article is not changed in any way and the final paragraph: "About the author", with all links intact, is included.]

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice."

---

10 Easy Maintenance Tips vs Piling on the Chaos

Whether you are in your own business or an employee... Read More

Organizing - Time is of the Essence!

What does "time" have to do with getting organized? Everything!... Read More

Saving Memories Without Losing Your Mind

The summer is flying by for Cindy and her family.... Read More

5 Tips to Banish Clutter From Your Life For Good

Studies show that 80 percent of what we use comes... Read More

Organizing for Today, Tomorrow and the Next Day

Getting organized is hard. If it weren't, we wouldn't put... Read More

Organized Living-Secrets About Your Lifes Hidden Power Revealed

An organized living lifestyle can cause you to weed out... Read More

The Organized Move: Packing Made Simple

(This is the second in a series of three articles... Read More

1-2-3 Sort

Article excerpted from the new book, "How to Do Space... Read More

50 Ideas to Organize Your Home

"Organize" is a familiar word heard on many of today's... Read More

10 Organizing Tips for Road Warrior Parents

Parenting is always a challenge, but particularly so if your... Read More

10 Tips on Color Coding Your Paper: From Chaos to Coherence

Color-There Is No SubstituteIn anatomical illustrations you see the brain's... Read More

The True Definition of an Organization

The true definition of an organization is one that is... Read More

Until We Go Paperless

From time to time I hear this question from an... Read More

Relieve Vacation Stress By Planning Ahead

Cindy looks at the calendar and sighs. Ah, the end... Read More

Ending The Morning Madness

Back-to-school time ? what does that mean to you? For... Read More

The 4-Keys to Clutter Free Living - Design a Space that Nurtures Your Soul

Decluttering is a simple-to-learn process, once you break it down... Read More

How Clutter Affects Your Love Life

Clutter in any area of your home is a sign... Read More

Tired of Endless Chores and To-Dos? Stop Running Around in Circles and Enjoy Life Again

Do you feel like you are running around in circles,... Read More

Organization Tips - How To Get Things Done

What stops you from 'getting things done?'Have you ever started... Read More

Creative Storage Solutions

When the things in your home start crowding in around... Read More

Spring Cleaning: Mission Garage Organization

Spring is here and the garage door is open. This... Read More

What Balance Looks Like For You

Recently, in an online group, we talked about "balance" and... Read More

Making Space - Letting Go of Clutter

To make room for new things to come into you... Read More

Overcoming E-mail Overload Using Microsoft Outlook

Do you feel like you just get too much e-mail?... Read More

9 Simple Strategies for Home Organization

Home organization means being able to find your stuff when... Read More

What Momma Never Told Me About Housekeeping

A lot of us grew up with Mom taking care... Read More

Too Many Unfinished Projects? 7 Time Management Strategies to Move Stalled Projects to Finish Line

Q. I have several projects going at once -- but... Read More

Success at Work : Techniques : A Cluttered Desk

I followed my boss to a co-worker's cubicle where my... Read More

The Five Ways To Ease The Process Of Eliminating Clutter

I recently had a conversation with a friend about clutter.... Read More

Words That Inspire - SIMPLIFY

What do you gain if you SIMPLIFY?Dictionary* says:to reduce to... Read More

Can You Make a ?Torpedo? Out of Personal Junk? How to Optimize What You Have

"Junkyard Wars," a TV series showed two teams of experts... Read More

Are You Stuck In The Clutter Trap?

You arrived on earth without clutter. Your parents and doting... Read More

5 Reasons to Organize Your Home Today

Home organization isn't just for neat-nicks or those drawn toward... Read More