I've got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that we live in a world with endless possibilities and opportunities. The bad news is that all of these possibilities and opportunities can get overwhelming and you may find yourself not accomplishing anything.
Often as I speak with my clients or (to be completely transparent here) even as I look at my own desk, I get the sensation of drowning in a pool of options and to-do's.
Different people have different reactions to all of the options. Some people end up freezing and doing nothing, while other people may jump from one thing to another in an effort to get everything done. The end result is the same…at the end of the day you wonder where the day has gone and marvel at how little you've accomplished and how much more there is to do.
Since there are so many things that my clients and I either want to do or feel that we "should" do, we sometimes create one of those "brain dump" lists to get everything out of our brains and into one spot. I wish I could simply wave a wand and accomplish everything on my "brain dump" list but I can't because the reality is that we only have 24 hours a day.
Maybe it would be different if the list was stagnant but it isn't. Somehow the universal law of to-do lists seems to be to always add more than you can possibly cross off. If you try to do everything all you'll manage to do is engage in a race against the clock that you will never win and you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and in the end, unproductive.
When I see this happening either for myself or my clients it means it's time to step back and assess what is really going on. Usually what we find is that our expectations are out of line with reality and as much as we'd like to do everything it's time to take stock of what's going on, start prioritizing and making a plan.
Four Questions to Ask Yourself
If you're finding yourself feeling like you're consistently losing your race against the clock try asking yourself the following FOUR questions so that you can first make sure that the things on your to-do list are the things that belong there and second to help you decide what to work on.
1. Are the things on my to-do list things that I want to do for me, or are they things that someone else wants me to do for them?
2. Are there things on my to-do list that have been hanging around forever? Why are these things on my list? Would it really make such a big difference if they got done? Has it really mattered that they haven't been done up until now?
3. Of the things on my to-do list what is going to give me the biggest return on my investment for my time and effort. For instance, what will generate the most revenue, have the biggest effect for your clients, or help you sleep better at night?
4. What is the one thing that I absolutely must get done today in order to feel I've accomplished something? (Warning: Do not make this so huge of a task that it's impossible to do it in the time you have available, break the overall task up into a few doable steps)
When you allow yourself to let go of some of the tasks on your list and not get everything done you give yourself permission to focus all of your attention on the most important things and get them done.
Carrie Greene is a speaker, trainer, coach and author of Chaos to Cash. She helps entrepreneurs cut through the confusion and chaos surrounding them so they make decisions, stop spinning and procrastinating and make more money. Free resources at http://www.CarrieThru.com
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