Brian Tracy explains the ABCDE method: A tasks have serious consequences, B tasks have mild ones, C tasks don't matter, D tasks you delegate, E tasks you eliminate. Do all A tasks in order before touching anything else.
Time management is a skill like typing or riding a bicycle that can be developed with practice and repetition. Hello, I'm Brian Tracy and today I want to talk to you about a method of time management that I've been using for years. It's called the A, B C D E method. The more thought you invest in planning and setting priorities before you begin work, the more important things you will do and the faster you will get them done. Once you get started, the more important and valuable the task is to you, the more you will be motivated to overcome procrastination and launch yourself into the job. William Matthews said that the first law of success is concentration to bend all the energies to one point and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor to the left. The ABC method is a powerful priority setting technique that you can use every single day. This technique is so simple and effective that it can all by itself make you one of the most efficient and effective people in your field. The power of this technique lies in its simplicity. Here's how it Start with a list of everything you have to do for the coming day. Think on paper now. Once you have a list of all the tasks you must complete, start the A, B C D E method. An A item is defined as something that is very important. This is something that you must do. This is a task for which there can be serious consequences if you do it or fail to do it, like visiting a key customer or finishing a report for your boss that she needs for upcoming board meeting. These are the frogs of your life. If you have more than one a task, you prioritize these tasks by writing a 1, a 2, a 3, and so on in front of each item. Your a 1 task is your biggest, ugliest frog of all. A B item is defined as a task that you should do, but it only has mild consequences. These are the tadpoles of your work life. This means that someone may be unhappy or inconvenienced if you don't do it, but it's nowhere as important as an A task. Returning an unimportant telephone message or reviewing your email would be a B task. The rule is that you should never do a B task when there is an A task left undone. You should never be distracted by a tadpole when there is a big frog sitting there waiting to be eaten and your big frog is your biggest and most important task. A C task is defined as something that would be nice to do but for which there are no consequences at all whether you do it or not. C tasks include phoning a friend, having coffee or lunch with a co worker, or completing some personal business during work hours. This sort of activity has no effect at all on your work life. As a rule, you can never complete a C task when there are B or A tasks left undone. A D activity is something that you can delegate to someone else. The rule is that you should delegate everything that you possibly can to to other people to free up more time for you to engage in your A activities. Your A tasks and their completion largely determine the entire course of your career. An E activity is something that you should eliminate altogether. After all, you can only get your work under control if you stop doing things that are no longer necessary for you to do. The key to making this A B C D E method work is for you to now discipline yourself to start immediately on your A1 task and then start at it until it is complete. Use your willpower to get going and stay going on this one job, the most important single task you could possibly be doing. Eat the whole frog, do the job completely and don't stop until it is finished. Your ability to think through, analyze your work list and determine your A1 task is the springboard to higher levels of accomplishment and greater self esteem, self respect and personal pride. When you develop the habit of concentrating on your A1 most important activity, you will start getting more done than any two or three people around you. If a new task or project comes up, write it down on your list and set a priority for it before you start. Work on it. If you don't write down new ideas and activities and instead react and respond to the non stop demands on your time, you will quickly lose control of your day and end up spending most of your time on activities of low or no value. Review your work list right now and put an A, B, C, D or E next to each task or activity. Select your A1 job or project and begin on it immediately. Discipline yourself to do nothing else until this one job is complete. Practice this ABCDE method every day and on every work or project list before you begin work for the next month. By that time you will have developed the habit of of setting and working on your highest priority tasks and your future will be guaranteed. Before we wrap up, I'd like to leave you with a thought to share with your friends and co workers. Time management is a skill like typing or riding a bicycle that can be developed with practice and repetition. Now I'd love to hear from you. So my question today is how did using this ABC make method impact your time management. Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to follow up with you. Thanks for watching. And remember, if you want to change your future, take action and take action now. If you enjoyed this video and feel it was valuable in teaching you a new time management technique, subscribe to my channel like this video and share this video with your friends and click the buttons on the screen for a free gift. Thanks again for watching.
