Let me tell you a story...

I suffer from a disease. I knew the hazards of letting it go undiagnosed. I refused to believe my symptoms.

Walking into work, I'd have an idea of the work I needed to get done that day. I'd log onto my computer, spend a few minutes taking care of loose ends and 35 minutes later, I'd be ready to go. This was a mild symptom.

Waking up on the weekends, I'd conjure up a list long enough to keep 5 able-bodied people busy for 12 hours, expecting to work in a hike later on.

I have the multi-tasking syndrome, MTS. This past week, I decided, ENOUGH! That, and I had a project with an extremely tight deadline as well as multiple other projects popping up, and a vacation day thrown in the mix.

Searching for help, I found two great assets. Checklist: Are you doing these five things to be more effective at work? Eric Barker's first thing I tried this week, Establishing a Daily Ritual. The first step is: My Morning Minutes. When I got to work, I made of list to to-do's for work and personal, I gave myself 15 minutes to prioritize emails and then shut down my email. Bold, but it worked. Next week, I'll try his 2nd step: 1 minute every hour: Refocus.

The other item I found on Slideshare, 26 Time Management Hacks I Wish I'd Known at 20. This beauty spoke clearly to me. I choose two hacks to try this week. I began writing down anything that distracts me from my work. This was HUGE. From google searches, new ideas, random thoughts. I was amazed at the difference it made to write instead of do.

As Eric Barker and Etienne Garbugli both highlighted in their writing, making decisions is exhausting. Being aware of my tendency to get off track and deciding not to go with it and stay on track, took determination.

I don't want to multi-task like a big shot. I want to be a single-treader leaving work on time with tasks completed.