I’m going to jump straight in with this one and say that traditional to-do lists aren’t the best way to go about doing the tasks that need to be done.
Why? Because all that’s simply happening is you brain dump onto a list the things you think you need to do and chances are when it comes to working through your list you end up doing it in the order which you wrote it in rather than the importance of the task
Many of our daily tasks or even weekly tasks are either unnecessary, unimportant and we usually just end up busy and not productive
One of the ways I have been able to organize my tasks and what I need to do in order of its priority is by using the Eisenhower Matrix which ill write about shortly
When it comes to your traditional to do lists do you often feel like it’s never-ending or still feel overwhelmed with how much is on there?
What we need to do is take those task on your list and decide what to do with them,
- How important are they?
- When does it need to be done by?
- Can you automate or delegate it?
- Can you get rid of it completely
We can do this by using the Eisenhower matrix which I mentioned earlier, it’s something I’ve found super useful and it’s a great way to manage your time and task more efficiently
The Matrix is split up into categories
You’ve got urgent, not urgent, important, not important, inside this you’ve also got do, decide, delegate and delete
For the do section these are high prioity tasks that need doing ASAP, maybe you have deadlines coming up, a report to hand in or important email to respond to
Make sure what you putting into this section are the highest priority tasks that need doing now or as soon as you can
Next we have decide, these are the tasks that need doing but can wait, when are you going to do them, get them booked into your schedule, and decide when they will be done
Next is an extremely important one, delegate, this isn’t just about asking someone do to things for you but inside of this category comes automation, what takes can either be delegated, asking someone do to it, outsourced – hiring someone to do it or automated?
Automation and systems
Automation and systems are how great companies survive, for anyone that never watched the movie The Founder (how McDonald’s came to fruition )go and watch kt, very inspiring and it shows how having a system in place ensures effectiveness and that things run smoothly, great film, by the way, recommend any aspiring entrepreneur to watch
Going back to the Eisenhower Matrix the last section is delete
Look over your to do list, what task don’t really need to be there?
Ask yourself is this going to move me closer or further away from my goal?
When it comes to deleting tasks it’s best to think about your desired outcome when it comes to your life goals, if you haven’t already used our plan your dream life workbook and mapped out what your dream life would look like check it out here
Using this workbook you can use it to decide whether you should be saying yes or no.
Maybe somebody’s asked to go out for the night but you don’t particularly want to do, if it doesn’t align with your goals and it’s not going to move you closer don’t be afraid to say “no thanks”
I’ve hoped you’ve found this post useful, of you have give it a like and a share
Also don’t forget to get your copy of the Eisenhower matrix, there is a digital copy and printable pdf version available you can find the resources below
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