Time is money. As a business owner, or manager, in order to be competitive today, you must quickly learn to sort through the multitude of tasks facing you each day and narrow down to only the key revenue-generating activities, while letting the majority of the “noise” fade away.
How you work and your effectiveness in managing a multitude of duties and information can make the main difference between having a profitable business, or getting promoted.
The strength of To-Do Lists
By writing down your goals, you are much more likely to get those things done.
How much more most likely? Research shows that people who write down their goals are about two times as likely to achieve them as those who do not. And if you count those who write down their goals but don’t quite fulfill them, they still get a lot closer than they’d have if they hadn’t written them down in the first place.
This research is true in long-term goals like building your dream house or traveling the world – but exactly what does all of this have to do with daily To-Do listings?
Well, what is a To-Do list but a list of goals for the day? Which means by writing your daily goals list on paper, you’re a lot more than twice as likely to make significant process towards checking individuals tasks off than should you just flew by the seat of your pants. Here are some tips to help you create do-able, effective To-Do lists:
1. Make it reasonable.
We’re all too familiar with the endless To-Do checklist, the one with dozens of items, more than you could accomplish inside a week, let alone a day. While writing every single thing you have to do down on a list may make you are feeling like you’re getting your existence under control, it’s actually counterproductive. Not only will critical tasks get lost in the pile, you can become overcome with the sheer volume of stuff you have to accomplish.
2. Make it specific.
One of the biggest problems with To-Do listings is that people write down projects versus tasks. Anything that goes on your daily To-Do list should be something you can actually accomplish, such as “Call John about product release programs,” instead of “Finalize product release.”
Should you write down projects instead of tasks, you can’t ever cross all of them off – they just sit on your list and move from one day to the next that is obviously counter-productive and frustrating. However, basic psychology teaches that rewards make us wish to accomplish an activity more. So that every time we check off an item on our list, it motivates us to do more. You can only do this if the items are small enough to complete and check off.
3. Make it important.
I have been tempted to write down things on my list just so I can cross them off. And while this gives me a little momentary boost, it doesn’t do a lot to move you closer to your goals. So before something makes it onto your list, consider if it’s critical to the completion of your goals. If not, do not even write it down.
When used correctly, To-Do lists are powerful tools that can help you to definitely accomplish more in less time. Through “respecting the list” and following these types of three tips, you’ll have a To-Do list that will harness your time and help you move nearer toward your biggest goals.
Technology & the To-Do List
While a paper and pen will create effective To-Do lists, there are other technological options available all the time. You might want to check out some of these choices for turbo-charging your daily To-Dos:
1. Remember the Whole milk (rememberthemilk.com).
With interfaces along with Google Calendar and applications for Twitter, the iPhone and the Android, Remember the Milk is like a To-Do list on steroids. You can set up reminder messages to be sent to a person via IM or email, you can share your tasks with others, and set priorities. Service is free.
2. Basecamp (basecamphq.com)
The online service provides task and project tracking, messaging, and file storage for multiple users. Basecamp may be more than you need for a daily to-do list, however check out the free trial. You may like its capabilities for monitoring multiple lists across multiple projects and users. The basic service is $24 per month, along with larger, more robust plans rising to $149/month.
3. Ta-Da Lists (tadalist.org).
If you just want basic list capability without a lot of bells and whistles, Ta-Da Lists is for you. You can create multiple lists, share them with others, and obtain them to your iPhone. Service is free.
4. Rough Underbelly (roughunderbelly.com).
This particular To-Do list service has a unique way of tracking priorities. A person assign a certain number of points to each task, and your daily score is tallied as well as tracked over time. There’s also a timer function. No collaboration or sharing. Service is free.
5. Toodledo (toodledo.com).
Want to assign priorities, tags, and deadlines, set goals, create folders, as well as collaborate with others? Toodledo may be just the answer for you. This is a robust list function where you can shop all your lists and information together. Service is free.
6. Mindomo (mindomo.com).
If you prefer to create mindmaps before assigning tasks in order to lists, check out Mindomo. You can create maps, embed notes, and work online and off. The basic version includes seven roadmaps and is free; upgrades are for sale to $6/month for an individual and $9/month for a team.
There are literally a large number of tools available to help you track your projects and activities. Don’t get blinded by the glitz of the technology, although – the best tool is definitely the one that is easy to use as well as available when you need it.
URGENT Versus IMPORTANT
Do you feel like your day is spent in “firefighter” mode – putting out one emergency blaze after another? You can easily spend eight hours or even more at the beck and call from the urgent activities on your checklist: The phone call that comes right when you’re sitting down to do some much-needed proper planning, the unexpected invitation to a meeting. While these all might be deserving tasks, they’re not necessarily associated with your high-level goals. And as a result, time you’ve set aside for your important activities can be usurped by the tyranny of the urgent.
Yes, it’s hard to disregard a ringing phone or perhaps a full email inbox. But if you want to accomplish your goals, you need to have a system for focusing on the important tasks instead of the urgent ones.
Here are five tips for keeping your attention on the “Important” rather than the “Urgent”
1. Know what “important” is.
Keep your own high-level goals in front of you, literally and figuratively. You must know what you are trying to accomplish this month, now, today, so you can filter your activities accordingly.
2. Create a work area with no distractions.
It’s not practical to turn off your telephone ringer for 8 several hours straight, or to check your email only once a day. But you may set up zones where you restrict outside interruptions. Start with a basic time first thing in the morning for one hour. Get one big product off your To-Do list before you decide to check email. If that works well, add another quiet area in the afternoon, maybe right before you quit work, so you can put your planning collectively for the following day.
3. Manage expectations.
You train people how to treat you as well as what to expect from you. If you always respond to their emails immediately, they’ll grow to expect immediate answers. Slowly wean them from expecting you to be on-call, 24/7.
4. Create systems to support your habits.
Email in-box filters can shuffle non-critical newsletters and group emails to another file for later reading. Removing all non-essential applications and icons from your computer desktop (and from your physical desktop, too!) can keep you focused. File documents frequently to keep your space clear. Figure out where you’re getting derailed and create some limitations to keep you on task.
5. Remind yourself you can’t do everything.
Admitting you can’t do everything can go a long way in order to helping you see your limits. To reach your goals without being continually pulled off course and distracted, you need to be strategic about where you perform spend your time.
If you find yourself feeling like a task-completing machine, crossing off items from your To-Do list as soon as you write them down, remind yourself of the big picture, and hold fast to that vision. Knowing what to do, as well as what NOT to do, is much more important than being productive or attempting to do every task that crosses your desk.