Task List – Page 3 – One Insight Closer

Lots To Do! And Enough Time?

October 17, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in Overwhelm, planning, Task List

Last week I wrote about focusing on one task. The three steps to put your focus on the one thing you’re working on right now.

Well, I set up one day last week with no appointments so I could have the day to only get stuff done. Many of the items on my list that day where 30 minute tasks or less. So, I had about 15 items on my list.

Normally, I would tell a client (and myself) that 15 tasks are too many things! However, they were small tasks and I was pretty sure that there was enough time to do everything.

When I sat down at the beginning of the day, even though I knew they were smaller tasks, I wondered how I was possibly going to get everything done. It was a bit overwhelming to look at that list!

I reread my post for the week and decided to pull out my sticky notes. On those, I wrote the tasks that I wanted to complete in the next two hours. I wrote down four things, stuck it on top of my list of 15 and went to work. Somehow just looking at that smaller list was a lot more reassuring.

I didn’t have to have everything done now. I was able to focus on the current task and then move on to the next one quickly.

At the end of the day I didn’t have everything done. However, I learned a bit about what not to do in my day (don’t schedule reading a book, even a business book, after lunch because I won’t put it down after my allotted reading time is complete). And left enough wiggle room in that day’s and the next day’s schedule that it didn’t completely throw me for a loop the rest of the week.

And, when I reviewed what I accomplished, I felt extremely satisfied! I was able to get a lot done and address my overwhelm in a constructive way.

Because I like bullet points, this is the take away from my experience:

If your list looks too long and overwhelming, break it into smaller pieces. What will you finish in the next 2 hours?
Leave some buffer time in your day. Tasks can take longer than you anticipate or unexpected tasks or other things pop up. When you leave yourself some buffer time you’re able to absorb the unknown without it throwing you for a loop.
Review your day and make a note of what did and didn’t work that day. Use that knowledge of how you work best (or don’t work best) in future planning.
Review your day for your successes (or wins). We often forget this part. Pat yourself on the back for the things you accomplished, whether they are the tasks you completed, the way a situation was handled or the way you handled or managed yourself.

Basically, a successful day can be broken up into three parts: preparing, doing and reviewing (with today’s focus being on the preparing and reviewing).

Where do you get hung up with getting things done? Let me know in the comments below!

Image courtesy of nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are You Over Complicating It?

September 27, 2013October 6, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in attitude, intention, Task List

Have you ever over complicated something? You realize later, or someone points out to you that you could have easily done y instead of x and saved yourself a lot of time and energy.

If you don’t catch it early, it’s frustrating, right?

Do you do that with your business?

You assume that a task or project is going to be difficult and you quickly prove yourself right. Until someone comes along and offers a suggestion that renders half of your plans obsolete and you wonder, could it really be that easy?

If you haven’t already read last week’s article, “How Do You Want Your Morning to Feel?” go back and read it.

I wrote about two morning scenarios. Some of you might have read the second one and thought, “That’s a great dream, but it’s just not possible for me.”

I get it. Between you and me, I’ve had that same thought before. Mine sounded like “Planning is a great idea, but I just don’t have time for that!”

What if you’re over complicating your business? What if it’s hard to get everything done because that’s exactly what you expect?

Our brains like to be right. So, often just thinking “hey, this is going to be difficult” makes something feel, well, difficult.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you just start telling yourself, “hey, this easy and I’ll get everything done today” Your brain is smart, it’s not going to believe that.

Does this mean that you’re going to get that page long to-do list done today? Probably not, however, what would change if you looked at your page long to-do list and instead of thinking, “Ugh! I have so much to do it seems impossible!” you thought, “Great! I know what needs to happen over the next few days, what can I do today?”

But what if you started asking yourself, “What if this was easy?” And left yourself open to that possibility. Or asked yourself, “What would I do differently if this were easy?”

Allow the possibilities. Invest a few minutes of your time to sit with it and allow yourself to feel the possibility.

And let me know what you discover in the comments below.

Staying Focused

March 14, 2013March 14, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in engaged, Task List

Back when I was a computer programmer, my job included a lot of troubleshooting for clients. So, when something wasn’t working right, it was my job to (1) determine what the problem was and (2) fix it or find a work around and report it to development.

What does that mean? It means that was no shortage of options when it came to what to work on each day. Quite frankly, some days it was hard to stay focused because there were many important tasks I could be working on at any moment.

Now, fast forward a couple years, I’m an entrepreneur working from home. While I don’t get phone calls from clients with websites or software that’s not working, I still have a lot of important tasks I could be doing for my business at any one moment. And because I work from home, there are also a lot of personal things I could be doing.

And of course, at home, no one but me is going to notice if I’m watching TV, YouTube or doing something else instead of working on one of those important tasks (well, my husband might start to notice).

So, how do you stay focused to work on those important tasks?

Here are some things you can do or consider:

Lists. You’ve taken the time to write down all the tasks that you need to do. Yes, it took some time that you could have used working, but it also saved you all that time and energy of worrying that you’re going to forget to do something. And when you remember something else, you have a spot to write it down so you don’t forget it (hint: it’s that same list, don’t start a new one!).
Plan tomorrow at the end of today. When you don’t have to think about what the next thing is to do, because you already planned it out, it’s easier to jump into the next task. It’s another reason why creating your master or weekly list is so important.
Clarity. You are clear on why the task is important to you, your business and your goals. You know that this task by itself might not be important, it is important to your larger goals.
Minimize Distractions.
- Email / Phone – Close your email (yes, really do that!) and silence your phone. This way you have a solid period of time to work without distractions.
- Family – You’ve also let others in the house know you’re working and should not be disturbed for 1-hour (or whatever period of time you need) or until you open your office door. However, once the time is up, go engage with your family, play with your kids for a half hour or talk to your husband. Why do this? If your family knows that you’ll emerge from your office and be there for them, they’re more likely to leave you alone for a bit.
- Noise – If there is distracting noise (or distracting quiet – yes, I occasionally find silence very distracting), find some soothing music to play in the background. Pandora or Spotify are great for that.
Just sit down and do it. Personally, this rarely works for me. I need to have one or more of the items above figured out before I can just sit down and do it. And I’m guessing, because you’re here, that you’re probably like me in this regard.

Anything else you do to stay focused on the task at hand? Share in the comments below!

Image courtesy of adamr/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Celebrate That? But It Was Too Easy!

February 14, 2013February 21, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in perspective, Task List

How often have you reviewed your week and been frustrated because it seems like the BIG and difficult things didn’t get done?

Yes, maybe a lot of other things were completed, but those really don’t seem to count, because the really HARD thing didn’t get done. So, you automatically feel bad, and maybe guilty, for missing that target.

Why aren’t you excited about the things you did accomplish?

Sometimes we don’t give ourselves credit for the routine or simple things we do that support us and our businesses.

Did you send out you weekly or monthly newsletter/note to your subscribers? Congrats! How many weeks or months has that been going without interruption? Are you celebrating?
Did you get out of the house and go networking, even though you had items from yesterday’s to-do list undone? Congrats! You’re out there meeting people and strengthening existing connections!
Did you meet a personal goal this week? Congrats! You’re taking care of yourself so you can continue taking care of your business!
Did you have meetings with clients this week, timely follow up with them, or sell your product and deliver it? Congrats! You’re taking care of your customers!

I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea.

We often get caught up in everything that didn’t get done, goals that were missed and maybe opportunities that were lost.

We want to improve for next time, which is good! You want to review why something didn’t work and adjust for next time.

But we’re so busy focusing on those things that we miss some of the celebrations, big and small, that we could be having along the way.

So, I have a challenge for you: over the next 7 days, at the end of each day, write down what went right and what you accomplished. At the end of the 7 days, review it and have a little celebration for yourself! And come back here and share!

In the meantime, what have you already accomplished today? Share in the comments below!

Where Do I Start?

February 7, 2013February 11, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in Goals, Overwhelm, planning, Task List

It’s easy to answer “Where do I start?” with “at the beginning” isn’t it? Sometimes though, the beginning isn’t immediately obvious.

“I’m soooo overwhelmed with what has to be done! And I have no idea where to even start making changes so that I feel like I’m accomplishing something on a regular basis.”

Sound familiar?

I’ve heard it a few times, heck – I’ve said it myself a few times!

I pulled this great quote from David Allen’s book Getting Things Done:

Trying to manage from the top down, when the bottom is out of control, may be the least effective approach.

This describes exactly why I believe you need to know what’s currently on your plate before you set your long term goals.

Now, you might be saying, but Evie! You’re a coach, don’t you encourage your clients to set goals right away?

And yes, I do, but the shorter term goal of “I want to understand what’s currently on my plate” needs to be accomplished before adding more goals to the plate.

So, why take the time and energy to know what’s on your plate before you set your goals? Well, there are three reasons:

When you don’t already know exactly what is on your plate, taking on more things only adds to the confusion and overwhelm. ‘Should’ becomes a constant companion as in, “Oh, I should be doing this” and you spend less and less time with what makes you excited, as in “Ohhh! I get to do this today!”
When you know what’s on your plate, you can easily see where you’ve taken too much on or what’s not as important as you previously though. And then you can let that stuff go. Remember, just because you’ve always done it that way, or other people in your profession have, doesn’t mean that you have to do it that way.
When you set your goals after you know what’s on your plate, you can easily see what you’re already doing that supports those goals. And you might find that with a slight tweak, some things you’re already doing will support your new goals.

Think of it like this, if you’re driving and get lost, you stop and find out where you are (or pull out your phone or GPS) so you can determine how and when you’ll get to your destination.

So, what’s on your plate that you can let go of? Share in the comments below!