I wanted to share with you something that is important and crucial to all of us as busy professionals and business owners. I wanted to make sure that I include something that you will find of benefit that is of value to me. For that matter, I am going to share with you my top 5 methods on how to shrink your to do list.
All of us have to do lists although some will have mental ones and others on their diaries…then there are others, who use scattered pieces of paper or notes.
1. Write down your To Do list on your preferred communication channel of choice.
Personally, I prefer to write my To Do lists on my mobile device. I use the Notes and Reminder apps of my iPhone as it enables me to revise the list when I am out and about. However, I also find that writing a copy of my to do list on hard copy is convenient for immediate reminders when I’m working at home.
I keep all my hard copy to do lists in one book for ease of reference.
If you’re a mental notes person, I highly recommend writing down a list as things can go amiss at times. I have found that by writing my list on a piece of paper helps keep me on track on what else remains to be done.
There is just so much noise in our busy world (children, TV, mental noise) that it is easy for things to be forgotten.
2. Review your To Do list
Consider the tasks you have listed to be done and ask these three questions.
1. How important is this task right now? (Does this task need immediate attention or can it be done next week, next month or next year?). You can score each item accordingly with a personal scoring system that allows you to weigh the importance of the task at hand.
2. Is there a deadline and if so, what is the deadline?
There are tasks that do not have deadlines that sometimes take over your to do list. Ensure you review each task to make sure they appear on the list accordingly. Sometimes you might find that task C might have to be completed first before you can carry out task B.
3. Can this task be done without my help? If so delegate it to someone else.
If you are overwhelmed with a lot to do, share and delegate the workload to work colleagues or someone else that can help. You will not only help yourself but also ensure the task is completed sooner or perhaps a little bit better with someone else that has a lighter to do list than you.
3. Re-prioritise your list
Now that you have revised your list, reprioritise it according to the scores you have given each task.
Remove the tasks that you are able to delegate and move the ones with later deadlines lower to be done later.
If you have tasks with competing deadlines, go back to point 2 and review the importance of the task right now. Which task has a greater impact on your goals and objectives right now? The one with the greatest should get priority over the other.
4. Be kind to yourself
If your To Do list has shrunk to a more manageable list, don’t take on more tasks just because the list looks smaller. Some tasks require more time and energy than others and you have to be kind to yourself and allow time for revision of those tasks if they are important to you.
Some tasks that require revision fall short of being well done due to being done in a rush.
Be kind to yourself and allow yourself time for completion of your current to do list.
5. Ask for help
You will find that there is always a willing family member or work colleague to lend a hand if you need it. If there is too much to do, there is help at hand.
Executive Support NZ, your NZ Virtual Assistant offers administrative and technical help from the cloud to support busy professionals and business owners. I can work to help you achieve your goals and at the same time working to achieve my business goals. A win-win!
I hope you found this list useful and I would love to hear from you by leaving a comment below.
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