Check THAT off your list!

They say that if you want a task done, you should give it to a busy person.  I am that person.  I thrive when I have a lot to do and am much more efficient.  If I only have one task to do on any given day, it will probably wait until tomorrow!

Through out the years I have taken many business courses and read a lot of blogs on productivity.  I probably could have accomplished a whole lot during that time!  Having said that, here are some of the tactics that I find useful!

1. Setting 90 day goals:  I have gone through setting 5 year goals, one year goals, wildly improbable life goals, and really I find all of those time frames too long!  Also, if I knew how to get where I want to be in 5 years, I would probably already be there!  I find that 90 days is perfect.  I try to set 5 goals (some music, some business, some personal) and then work only on them.  I can usually accomplish my 5 goals by the end of the 90 days, and then I move on to new goals.  I have accomplished much more this year focusing on a shorter time frame that I would have looking at the entire year as a unit.
2. Blocking time in my calendar:  I now use  Google Calendar (it doesn’t matter which one you use) and block out time regularly to practice, work on business, go to Pilates, and meet with friends.  By putting these items in my calendar it makes them a priority, and I am less likely to double book myself with something else.  That means if someone asks me to go for coffee during my usual business time, I am reminded that I am supposed to be working on business and can decide if I have time and move that block somewhere else, or if I should reschedule with that person.  I do sometimes cancel work to see friends, but it is a conscious decision instead of getting to the end of the week and realizing that my work has not been done.
3. Having a weekly meeting:  I hold a “Sunday Summit” with myself every week to set out my tasks for the week.  I look at what I need to do that week to move myself toward my 90 day goals, and then schedule it into the week.  By dividing out my tasks into the various days of the week, it is much less overwhelming than having a single to do list for the whole week.  Each day I just have to complete a few tasks and not worry about the rest.  If I can keep on track day to day, the big project will complete itself.
4. Using a project management app:  This took me a while to embrace.  My mentor suggested a project management app to me, and I rebelled against it several times.  Now I love it!    I used to enter the exact tasks that I wanted to do, but if I didn’t complete a task on the day that I was supposed to, it would just disappear into the past.  With my new project management app (I use Asana) if a task is incomplete, it stays at the top of my to do list in red print.  It will stay until I complete it, which is great.  I also like using the project manager because I can schedule recurring events.  I am pretty old school with my Sunday Summit and still like to use paper, but would sometimes forget the weekly recurring tasks.  If you are more of a digital person, you could enter your one-off tasks into the project manager app as well.  I chose to continue to use my paper list.

 

These are a few of the tools that I like to use to complete everything that I want to do.  I hope this helps your with your goals!