Page 85 - Focus Group

Let’s Complete

the Work

The 2:4:4:2 rule of finishing Lately, I came across this simple 2:4:4:2 rule
of getting work done. At first it looked like a
pending and everyday work mathematical ratio, but each number marked
by a ratio started to make sense. I read further
Do you feel stuck at work sometimes? Do you feel and found the approach extremely interesting.
overloaded with post-it notes telling you the tale of Before I sound like preaching about this, I would
all the pending tasks? Well, all of us face this almost like to share say that after consciously practicing
every day. this rule, since it started working for me. This is

I am sure none of us like getting up in the morning how it works.
with a mental list of all the pending work ready 2 Tasks Rule
to break our day at early hours of morning. As
accountants, we all experience months, quarters, From your To-Do List, pick two most important tasks
year-end, statutory deadlines, client expectations that need to be accomplished and the respective
and juggling around with other multiple tasks. timelines. CAUTION! Resist picking not more than
Sometimes one task after the other, other times two tasks at one time. At this moment, you may
overlapping tasks. On top of this, the pending tasks feel multiple tasks are important and may find it
always hover around us. We tend to re-write our over difficult to pick two. Based on Urgent/Important
ambitious, never ending “To-Do List” repeatedly in deadlines and with little conscious and thoughtful
the same way every day, which is, more than what effort, you can surely win this battle. It is better to
we can accomplish in a day. Isn’t that true? By the concentrate on two tasks rather than worry about
time we are about to end our day, we profess about the pending four.
our workload! We all wish to simplify this trap!”
Sometimes, it is better to first pick a task which is

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Dubai) Chapter NPIO TAX JOURNAL 2020 85