Last week I found myself in a real bind: too many things to do and not enough chance to get them done . Anyway, I felt overloaded with work. In addition to having little time to work, I was “blessed” by a few ideas and possible projects that made me feel even more overloaded.
And since there are no two without three, I was behind with the emails and had to get the tax return ready.
My inner voice told me over and over again, “You need to get organized, set priorities, and do only what needs to be done now.”
So I decided to re-examine my planning system.
Ready To Be More Productive
My system is based on making lists. Let me explain what kind of lists I use:
Aspirations, commitments and time lists
At all times we have many alternatives when it comes to doing our homework. There are things that need to be done right now, others for later and some others to be done one day perhaps. And it is this last category, those of some day perhaps, that complicate our existence. Let me explain better.
Current Priority List
This is a list of things to accomplish in the next month. These are projects you’ve already committed to or launched, such as putting together a webinar, changing your website home page, or fulfilling a promise you made to a colleague about a project.
The thing about current priorities is that they need you to do them relatively soon, but probably not today or even this week. But the mind has difficulty ordering things in this way.
You want to do everything NOW! But by putting those tasks and projects on a current priority list you don’t forget them but you don’t need to take action until the time is right.
weekly list
These are the tasks and projects that come from your Priority List. This list is at the heart of planning and organization. Once a week you should take a look at this shorter time frame and ask yourself, “What things on my priority list do I need to get done this week?”
For example, if you are giving a workshop next week, it would make sense to prepare this week and avoid being late later. The key to the success of a weekly list is that it not be too long. You shouldn’t list the little things but the important things – things that make a difference in moving your business forward. So you have to select a few (5-10) key items and commit to doing them this week.
daily list
This list includes one or two items from the weekly list and also a number of little things that need to be done that day, such as responding to certain emails, errands, etc. And of course, the number of tasks you commit to doing that day will also depend on the number of appointments you have with clients or prospects.
I have a simple game that I play every day. It’s called “do everything on my daily list.” It’s not always possible, but when I set that intention, I’m usually successful. Remember, it’s not about getting a few things done, but about getting the most important ones done.
Project Ideas List
This new list is my secret weapon for productivity; It collects all the good ideas that come to mind and then sets them aside momentarily to mature. This is the area that many of us find so difficult. You know the situation: You come with a great idea and start working on it right away. After all, that’s where the power is, right? Well, yes, but working on this new idea completely sidesteps your priorities.
What is worse, after a few days you realize that this idea is not really viable or that it is better to leave it on hold for a few months. So all that time, you’ve been distracted from your priorities, and now you’re behind on important projects.
Result: You feel overwhelmed. That’s where the list of project ideas comes to your aid. Whenever a brilliant business idea (or an idea about any other area of your life) pops into your head, go to your list of project ideas, write it down, and get back to your priorities for the day. later you can review them, think about it and let it mature until you feel ready to move it to your current Priority List.
Lists Used as Filters for Ideas and Actions
One way to look at lists is as a filter for all the ideas that pop into your head . And you can use all its lists for that:
- You remember that you promised your spouse that you would bring a roast chicken from Costco. That goes on your list every day after work.
- Do you remember that the tax filing is due in a couple of weeks? You write it on your weekly list and see when you could dedicate a few hours to it this week.
- And when you freely refer to your project ideas at the end of the week, you decide whether to upgrade a project to your current priority list.
Now you have things organized for today, the week, the month and indefinitely . After a bit of practice, you begin to relax as you feel less overwhelmed. After all, the only things you really need to focus on are what you’ve committed to doing today. And if your list is of a reasonable length, there’s no need to panic; can get it done.
Project Pages
This is another important page for arranging things on your priority lists. Most priorities or projects consist of a series of action steps, sometimes few, sometimes many.
When she’s ready to start working on a priority, she pulls out a project page and starts listing all the steps to take.
Breaking a project down into steps is an art in itself, but the famous saying applies here:
“You can’t eat an elephant in one bite, but you can cut it into pieces and eat one bite at a time.”
putting all the pieces together
This system for organizing all your projects and ideas is simple and powerful, but it can seem a bit complex. After all, you have six lists here. How do I control all of them?
This can be done in a number of ways, but here’s what works for me: First, I create forms for all these lists. You can do this in Word using tables.
First Tab – Current Priorities
I use a three hole punch and punch the holes on the right side of the page and put those pages on the left side of the binder. And then on the right side of the folder I put the Weekly List, with holes on the left side. So I have the current Priority List and the weekly lists face to face. I keep the folder open on my desktop at all times to easily check my priorities.
Second Tab – Project Ideas
Left perforations on the right side of the binder. Just turn that page when you have a new idea and write it down.
Third tab – Project Plans
I’m going to put a few pages here with the current plans that come out of the list of my current priorities. Once these projects are complete, I archive it or throw it away.
Fourth tab
Copy the number from each of the forms and place them under tab four at the back of the binder for easy access. That’s it for the folder.
The key to keeping up with all of your lists is to do a short planning session at the end of each week. View all lists, move items, forward or delete them. When a page is full (with a lot of finished articles) it just creates a new one. And start with a new weekly list every week.
And your daily list? My daily list goes on a daily page in my planner. It may seem a bit complicated, but I work all of my office, and I work with clients by phone, email and Skype. I don’t need to carry these things around.
What’s cool about Evernote is that in addition to being able to create all these lists and as many project pages as you need, you can easily add graphics, photos, videos, and more. which can be extremely useful for exploring projects.
I hope this note has been useful to you, in which case I ask you to leave us a comment below and spread it on your social networks.