Getting the right things done

How you start your day (or week) can have a big impact on how your day actually pans out.

I’ve always known this, and therefore started my days and weeks with intentional lists - you know, your traditional “to-do” lists.

I thought I was being productive - getting all the stuff out of my head and onto paper and ticking stuff off as I went along.  It FELT productive.

But in the past few years I noticed that whilst I felt productive, I wasn’t sure if I was actually moving forward and getting the right things done.

So I want to share with you some things I’ve been doing differently to help me ensure that my days and weeks actually pan out the way I want them to - and a big part of that involved changing up how I start my day.

Scrap the To-Do List

What?  I love my to-do lists.  So no, I haven’t scrapped them completely but I have changed the role that they play.

To-Do lists are great because they DO get all the stuff out of your head and onto paper.  As a business owner and busy mum of 3, there is no way that I can remember everything that could get done and so to-do lists are great because they are a record of all.the.things.

I look at my to-do list now as a bit of a brain dump.  It’s a mix of all the stuff that has to get done, could get done, people would like to have done, etc.  It’s everything, out on paper, a running outstanding list of sorts.

But that’s really its only function - to keep a running tab.  So if my child tells me they are running out of ink at school, it goes on the list so I don’t have to keep it in my head.   That doesn’t give it any priority or urgency, it’s just a record it’s outstanding.

Create a Priority List - The “Daily 6”

So instead of running my days based off a to-do list, I now create a “priority” list.  This list actually is one of the last steps in my goal-planning process, where I start with identifying my longer-term goals and then break them down into manageable steps and assign timeframes.  These steps are what end up on my priority list.

Because the reality is, the immediate and urgent things will always dominate your day if you let them.  And those things that you need to do to achieve your goals or get you to that place in the future that you want to be generally get deprioritised in busy everyday lives.

So each day there is at least one step towards a bigger priority and this gets scheduled earlier in the day.  

My priority list is never more than 6 items long and it breaks down like this:

1 thing I HAVE to do (the priority!)

2 things I NEED to do (generally stuff for others - like the kids)

3 things I’d LIKE to do.

Sometimes I mix things up and have 2 items on my priority list (one business, one personal) and then I adapt so there is only 1 thing I NEED to do (for others) and the last category remains the same at 3.

It sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?  The truth is, ruthlessly prioritising and sifting through the to-do list to get to the “Daily 6” list can often be pretty tricky, but I’ve found once I’ve gone through that process, it’s SO much easier to focus and know I’m spending my time in a way that both gets things done and moves me forward.

Do that thing FIRST

If you’ve read or heard of “Eat the Frog,” you’ll know that doing that big thing FIRST can make all the difference.

And it’s often tricky because our brains can offer up so much resistance to doing that thing, especially if it feels hard, challenges us or is something we’ve not done before.

Our brain's primary role is to keep us alive, seek pleasure and avoid pain.  It’s pretty lazy that way so when there is anything that pushes us out of our comfort zone, that seems hard or uncomfortable to do, our brain comes up with all sorts of seemingly innocent thoughts to keep us from that.

But have you ever noticed that when you actually do that thing you dread or are reluctant to do, you actually feel so much better?  You probably feel lighter, more confident, relief, a sense of achievement, etc.  It’s huge.  And then it opens you up to doing so many other things because that big thing is no longer hanging over you like a dark cloud and taking up your mental or emotional energy.

And the wonderful thing about being a human with a very complex brain, is that we get to do things even when we don’t feel like it.  You can decide to do that big thing first, even when you don’t feel like it.  Even when your brain offers up massive resistance and gives you all the reasons why it’s not a good time.  You still get to do it.  

Be aware of your THOUGHTS

Finally, as a cognitive (brain-based) business and life coach, I believe it’s incredibly powerful to be aware of your own thoughts, no matter what they are.

Too often, we mistake our thoughts for facts.  We think things and think that because we thing these thoughts, they must be true.  Well, the truth is - they’re just your thoughts.

Your thoughts are sentences that exist in your brain or that your brain has come up with.  They are, sadly, not the truth.

And our brains love to come up with so many thoughts and commentary about our day, what we should/shouldn’t do, how we’re doing things, the impact if we do / don’t do something, etc.

Just tuning into these and becoming aware of what your brain is offering you can be so powerful because from that place of awareness, you can decide what you actually want to think.

Do you hear yourself judging yourself for not getting enough done or having the results you want?  

Do you hear yourself saying you don’t have enough time to get everything done?  

Do you find your brain questioning whether you’re really good enough to do what you’re trying to do?

All of these are your brain offering thoughts to you on default.  These thoughts are not a problem at all and becoming aware of them is the first step to thinking intentionally.

How do you want to think about yourself? Your day? Your aspirations?  Your life?

So if you, like me, want to be confident that you’re actually doing the right things each day instead of doing all the things, then perhaps give these 4 steps a try for a few weeks and see how it works for you?