One of the most effective time and priority management techniques is to understand when, what, and how to let go of the stuff that is cluttering up your week. You can't do it all. If you try, you scatter your efforts over everything and your satisfaction in the end is lost in a pile of "should haves" and "could haves."

Anyone can make a large list of inconsequential items, work a harried pace, go home tired, and beat up the dog. It's not all that difficult. Many managers spend far too much time listing irrelevant and miscellaneous items in their daily planner, and discover that at the end of their day, they have a larger list of things to do tomorrow. Just doing stuff is indeed working, but it's not really achieving.

The effective manager knows when, what, and how to let go. They know that they cannot accomplish all the items demanding their attention. Instead, they learn what to delegate, what to do, and what to simply choose not to do.

Look at the things you have to do this week. Ask yourself whether the item really needs your attention. If it does, could you re-direct the item to someone who would want to help you with it? Look at the time you have before you and be realistic about your ability to handle all of the tasks effectively. Are there some items that are just not worthy of your time? Identify those items that are not absolutely necessary to handle this week and put them in a file to look at some other time, like when you are really, really bored.

Learn to give up and let go of all the stuff that is cluttering up your week. Practice letting go by marking off or crossing out items each day before you do them. Deciding not to do something is often more effective. Because in the end, whether you are around or not, there will always be stuff around.