Here’s what happens…
You have some grand plan to accomplish a ton of work today, or this week, or even this month.
All you have to do is “start”, and follow the directions that may have been given to you in order to accomplish these tasks.
Easy, right?
Well.. for some, yes.
For others, impossible.
Because once you start, there are a thousand distractions, you feel the pull from every direction, and after a while it seems like you’ve ventured down a completely different path than you originally planned.
Why?
Overwhelm.
Too much information, otherwise known as “information overload”.
We’ve all experienced it at one time or another.
So how do we get around this?
How do we get through it?
How do we make it go away?
Here are 5 helpful steps to get you over this time-management hurdle..
- 1. Get it out of your head and down on paper (or onto your screen).
Grab a pen, or use an online task manager, and just start writing notes on what you have to do. No particular order, just get it out of your head and you won’t have to worry about it taking up space in your brain anymore.
- 2. Prioritize and group your tasks
Look at your tasks, decide what’s important and what you “want” to do first. Prioritize based on what you LIKE doing and what you’d most enjoy getting off your plate.
- 3. Take action and do the easy stuff first.
Dig in. Since you prioritized your tasks based on what you WANT to do first, those should be the easiest to get done. It’s much easier finishing tasks you enjoy doing as opposed to the tougher ones (even if they’re more important). As long as you’re taking action you’re on the right track.
- 4. Stay focused (on the current task) until complete
Do it, complete it. Don’t do half of one task while doing half of another task, otherwise you’d end up back in the world of overwhelm. Don’t do another task until you’ve completed (and checked off) the previous task.
- 5. Celebrate.
Check that sh*t off your list. Give yourself a pat on the back. Being able to check your tasks off a list is the reason task lists exist. Every completed task deserves a small reward. Celebrate the fact that you’re moving forward, and that you know how to KEEP moving forward.
Repeat the above steps until your tasks have been checked off your list.
Easy, right? Kind of. You just have to do it – and keep doing it.
The tool I use on a daily basis to keep all my task management on task, is called the TomorrowList, and it’s part of GlobalNPN‘s suite of marketing tools.
I use it because it’s a simple, non-complicated, task manager that is super quick to set up, create tasks, make notes, and get stuff done.. which is what we want, right?
You can get access to this tool from your GlobalNPN backoffice.
Let me know if this article helped you out by clicking “LIKE” and leaving me a comment below..
Thanks!
– Geoff Stephen
