There is a common question I encounter in my Efficient Librarian presentations that can be best synthesized as this: How do I decided between different priorities?
The default resolution that many people fall to is an attempt to decide which item is most important. While this can be helpful, adjudicating importance can be too subjective and imprecise. A better guide to resolving this question was recently presented on the Getting Things Done blog. In the post, senior coach Kelly Forrister framed a few different factors to consider.
1/ Context is first since it will always be required to do what you want to do. For example, if your computer is required to write an email, but you don’t have it with you, then you can’t take that action. If being @Home is required to mow your lawn, but you’re not home, you can’t take that action.
2/ Time available is also a limitation in that if you don’t have the time to take an action, it won’t matter if it’s high priority or not. If you only have ten minutes, but you need an hour to take an action, that will eliminate some choices.
Read the rest of the factors listed in the post on the Getting Things Done blog.
simplest way to do this is through a “Waiting For” folder. A “Waiting For” folder is a depository for copies of any message which requires a response. Most of the time, our colleagues respond quickly. However, the “Waiting For” folder pays dividends for those times when a response is lagging. A best practice is to check the “Waiting For” folder at least once a week. While browsing through the contents make an executive decision on each message: Do you follow up to encourage action or let it lie fallow for another week?
David Allen is fond of saying that “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” As a knowledge worker, your ability to generate and implement ideas is crucial to your success. The challenge is that we can never know for certain what will turn out to be a good idea and what will end up as a discarded thought. However, it is guaranteed that a forgotten idea will never be implemented. Therefore, it is important to have a method to capture ideas as they appear.
In January 2018, I had a short article published in the American Library Association 
An Efficient Librarian creates clean edges to her work. It all starts with an organized desk and a clearly defined physical inbox to identify new input. One habit-changing practice is to empty the inbox regularly and use it only to place new items that have yet to be processed. An Efficient Librarian pays attention to how time is spent and looks for ways to declutter surroundings and simplify systems. For me, mastering workflow and creating systems that were tight, clean, and quick was a key to my transition. I believe that the application of these principles saves me weeks of time every year to focus on creative and exciting work that takes me along new innovative paths. This unleashing of energy is needed to revitalize our profession in the face of changing times.
The pursuit of efficiency often requires a cleanup of our physical spaces. While clearing out clutter should be easy to do, in practice it is hard to throw away objects we own. For example, maybe you got a mug at a conference six years ago. The conference was unmemorable and the mug is an awful yellow color. As you are considering parting with it, a colleague asks if they can have it. You quickly decline and put it back on the shelf. This is a direct experience of the Endowment Effect.
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Efficient Librarian 