Stop Doing Low-Value Work

In the past, time management experts would recommend that you divide up your work into A tasks, B tasks, and C tasks.
The concept was to do the A tasks first, then the B tasks, then the C tasks, when you can get to them. If priorities changed, you just changed the order of your As, Bs, and Cs.
That kind of thinking ended during the recession of 2007-2009.
No matter the job, everyone ended up with a lot more work. Overwhelmed is the new normal.
Matter of professional life or death to get rid of your low-value work – tasks that mean little or nothing to customers or colleagues.

When you start a new job, you have a fresh perspective on what has to be done and you can see the low-value work more easily.
When more responsibility is added to what you already do, you have an opportunity to restructure your work and present your plan. Offer choices to your manager: “Should I lead this task force considering it will take approximately 20% of my time? Or, should I…?”
When there is a reorganization, you have to be careful not to take on too much.
When you have done an amazing job of something and everyone is celebrating, it’s a great time to ask for something. Ask for help reducing your low-value work from your company’s productivity unit or information technology gurus.

Vote it off the island. A smart controller had been producing monthly reports for years that nobody read. He sent around a list of them and asked for votes for the most important three or four. The idea is simply to stop doing something that isn’t important, but to check first so that it doesn’t get you into trouble.
Automate it. If it’s low value, it’s easy to automate. There are probably existing applications that you could use. Just figure out what you want to do, and find someone to help you do it.
Write your own rules. Limit what you are going to do and then make sure people know your rules. Ex. A professor decided to write personal references only for her advisees or the students in her seminars, and announced the fact to her lecture classes. It saved her hours of time.
Every week, block off the same time for yourself at work. Use the time to figure out how to get rid of your low-value work. Just an hour can make a difference. Pick a time, and stick to it.