HOW TO CROSS MORE OFF YOUR TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK
ARE YOU READY TO MAKE 2022 THE YEAR WHERE YOU GET MORE DONE, ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS, AND STILL HAVE TIME FOR YOUR FAMILY? LET ME HELP YOU GET YOUR TIME BACK WITH MY FREE PRODUCTIVITY PLANNER!
I’m an “Elder Millennial” so I grew up in the time of Beanie Babies. I mean, I collected ALL of them. And don’t you dare remove their tags, otherwise they won’t be worth anything in the future.
Of course, I don’t own ANY of the ones I did back in the 90s, but I’m not even sure they’d be worth anything at this point.
However, I DO keep a little sloth Beanie Baby on my desk that I stole from one of my kids’ Happy Meals awhile back.
While I absolutely ADORE sloths, I stole this particular toy for a different reason.
It’s my daily reminder to SLOW DOWN.
There was a time in my business (actually, not too long ago, but before the sloth came into my life) when I was completely stressed + overwhelmed.
Everyday, I would look at my to-do list, see all the things on it, and feel like I’d NEVER be able to get everything I needed to do. Plus, I’d be inundated with emails + messages from clients, which just added to my to-do list… if it didn’t hijack what I had already intended to do that day.
I felt like I was working non-stop, skipping meals, working every night, and just never had a break.
I was on the verge of burnout and knew that if I didn’t change SOMETHING, my whole business life was going to collapse.
I’ve always been a big planner. I loved getting a new calendar at Christmas when I was a kid and writing down all the days off school and all of my friends’ birthdays. In college, I planned out my entire day so I knew when I had class, when I would study, and when I could just hang out and be a college kid.
So, why was it NOW that I just couldn’t seem to get my 💩 together?!
Here’s the secret I learned that changed everything for how I would get things done…
I wasn’t prioritizing my time + my tasks.
Here are 4 things that have helped me slow down, focus, and get more things crossed off my to-do list each day…
Brain dump your to-do list
There is NOTHING wrong with having a to-do list a mile long. I think it’s pretty standard, especially for moms who are running a business. We are the CEOs of our company AND the CEO of our homes. We have A LOT to worry about on a daily basis.
And if you’re anything like me, if it doesn’t get written down, there’s no way I’m going to remember it.
At the beginning of each week, try “brain dumping” your to-do list. What are all the things you need to get done this week? What things DIDN’T you get done last week that needs to be moved forward? What do you want to remember to do in the future and can possibly get to this week if you have time?
Write it all down. It helps to get everything out on paper and will decrease the amount of overwhelm and anxiety you feel about work for the week.
Choose 3 things to focus on each day
I know I just said that doing a brain dump of your to-do list can minimize your overwhelm and anxiety, but in all honesty, that to-do list can still feel overwhelming. Especially when it’s hard to figure out where to start.
Many of us go into our to-do list, aimlessly picking things to do each day without any rhyme or reason to why we are completing that task. And you probably get to the end of the day feeling like you really weren’t quite productive.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list, start by writing down 3 things to focus on each day.
How do you pick those things?
First, think about what is due SOON. If you have something that needs to be done by tomorrow, that obviously needs to be a top priority for you to get done today.
If nothing is urgent or time sensitive, what do you really NEED to be focusing your time on today?
But, the big thing is instead of working off your mile-long to-do list, just pick THREE things to focus on today.
Batch your tasks
This really goes hand-in-hand with your 3 daily priorities. Like I said, start with what is urgent or time sensitive, but if there is nothing, that’s where batching really plays a role in what you focus on for the day.
For me, batching my tasks looks like having an overall “theme” for each day. Here’s an example of what my weekly/daily task schedule looks like…
>> MONDAY: personal business tasks (i.e. checking in on clients/customers, writing blogs or emails, other marketing things that need to be done)
>> TUESDAY: client tasks + calls (i.e. any tasks I need to get done for clients I work with and any calls with my team or clients)
>> WEDNESDAY: content writing + projects (i.e. writing content for clients per The Biz Runners, any bigger projects I need to spend focused time working on)
>> THURSDAY: client taks + calls
>> FRIDAY: CEO tasks + catch-up (i.e. checking key performance indicators + data, catching-up on anything I didn’t get to during the week)
Now, instead of blindly choosing 3 things on my to-do list, I can focus on the things that fit under those categories for the day.
Timers are your new BFF
I know as a woman, I feel like I need to be busy all the time. And I LOVE what I do! I LOVE owning a business, working for myself, and helping people with time management + productivity. I could honestly work 24/7 if I really wanted to.
But, I’m also a big believer in rest and FOCUS.
If you’re struggling with focusing on one task at a time (because multitasking is KILLING your productivity), my favorite go-to app is FocusKeeper. I have a timer set for 25 minutes and I focus on ONE THING during that time. When the timer goes off, I get up, walk around, drink some water, pick up around the house, and after 5 minutes, I sit down for another 25 minute session of focused work.
I get SO much more done with these little timers - they definitely have become my productivity BFF!
If you want to get more done every day, try these out for yourself and see just how much you can get crossed off your to-do list each day!
If you’re struggling with stress and overwhelm when it comes to your to-do list, check out these 4 tips to help you manage it all.
