Here’s how he breaks it down:

It’ll take 2 minutes — do it now

Heimbigner looks at everything he needs to get done. Tasks that he can do in 2 minutes or less, like quick phone calls and email responses, he tackles right away.

“Most phone calls don’t last longer than 2 minutes unless it’s going to be very in-depth,” he says, “and if it’s going to be in-depth, I schedule that another time.”

It’s not for you — delegate it

Heimbigner delegates any work he can’t do to the administrative professionals in his office — mostly mail that needs to be sent out, he says.

“I stack it and take it to them after I’m done with my 2-minute rule in the morning,” he says.

If it’s something that requires him to follow up, he schedules a reminder to reach out to the person he delegated the work to.

“If it’s a customer service-related item or something that carries legal liability, I will tend to follow up on those just to make sure,” he says.

It’s unimportant — delete it

Heimbigner receives many voicemails and emails from people in his industry that are simple FYIs that don’t require him to take action.

“It’s just for me to know, and so I just acknowledge it and delete it,” he says.

It’s important — file it for later

Heimbigner determines which projects will require his concentration, like medical record reviews and in-depth client phone calls, and schedules them into his calendar for later in the day when he has time to focus.

“When those come in the morning, I go, ‘OK, I’m going to set time aside and schedule that later, file away the paperwork instead of leaving it out on my desk,’” he says.

Heimbigner likens the 2-minute rule to a “triage system” that helps him pick up more and more momentum throughout his busy day.

“I really feel like I can move through the rest of the day without these urgent fires taking over me,” says Heimbigner.

MORE TIPS FOR A BETTER DAY

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