Pick up the skills necessary to combat an unwieldy to-do list in this episode of Today’s Business Leaders. Lisa of Impactive Strategies chats with Gabe with tips and tricks centered on how to deal with wanting to do it all.
Manage Choices
Many people believe the key to tackling all of the tasks and projects they want to accomplish comes down to managing time. In an earlier episode, Lisa explained how to manage time. Time management is part of the equation when it comes to being productive but the true key to successful time management is managing choices.
Time Has Limits
With a limited amount of time available each day, you need to be particular in how you choose to use the time you have. Structure your time and give careful consideration to the tasks and projects you decide to work on.
Proactive Time Management
You cannot do it all, so decide what you really want to do. For example, if you only have time to cross three items off your to-do list each day then be mindful of the three you pick. Picking six tasks is likely setting yourself up for failure.
Cherry picking all easy tasks is going to make it more difficult to continue to knock out three tasks a day once you are left with the tasks that are hard or projects you are not motivated to work on.
Determine the Boundaries
Managing priorities complicates things sometimes. Find out how Lisa suggests choosing priorities. Sometimes opportunities come along that are more important than your previously established priorities. Understanding the boundaries of what keeps tasks or your to-do list is important.
Figure out the characteristics that would cause you to abandon a task on your list. Sometimes the exposure or income potential can outweigh previously established priorities. This flexibility ensures that you will not miss out on a great opportunity.
Keep Things Simple
To successfully complete tasks and cross things off your to-do list, you need to ensure you are ready and able to work. Set boundaries to ensure that you can take on your priorities.
For example, scheduling too many meetings without giving yourself time to complete the work generated by the meeting is exhausting and creates a perpetual cycle of having more priorities than time to complete tasks. Falling into this trap positions you to be unable to dedicate yourself to achieving your goals and accomplishing productive work.
The next episode of Today’s Business Leaders covers the universal problem of procrastination. Tune in to learn how Lisa recommends dealing with this issue.
