Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Reduce Stress and Be More on Top of Things With One Change to Your to-Do List
By Michele S Christensen
Even I was a bit skeptical at that headline and I wrote it! However, it is true I promise! The one thing I'll tell you about is really simple too. It has to do with assigning priorities in your to-do list.
I recently switched over to an online to-do list manager called Remember The Milk. One of the many great features is that you can assign priorities to your to-do items with choices of 1, 2, 3 or none (priority 1 shows on top of your list if you set it that way). I hadn't been using priorities in my two most recent systems and didn't want to get too complicated so I stuck with just using priority 1 or no priority. My rule for deciding whether to prioritize something was either it had a fixed deadline with a high penalty for missing (e.g. paying a bill or sending my newsletter) or it was just something important to me (sweeping up the dog hair from the floors). What started to happen was that in my two levels of priority, many things got put in priority 1. So many items were in priority 1 that I began to fall behind and had to start triaging even my high-priority items. This is where stress comes in - it's very stressful to look at a big list of priority 1 items, know you can't get to all of them and have to start deciding which to do and which to leave undone for now. It's also a big waste to spend time and energy deciding what to do because you haven't maintained your to-do lists in a way that supports you getting things done.
What I did, and this is the big secret today, is to change my criteria for priority 1 into only things that carry a substantial penalty for not being done on time. To support this, I added a middle layer of priority for things that don't have to be done by a specific day but I that I don't want to leave indefinitely either. Sweeping up the dog hair falls in here - it doesn't have to be done today, but I can't let it go for too long and maintain a sanitary living space. In contrast, sending my newsletter is a priority 1 because it reflects badly on me and disappoints people who have placed trust in me to send it late. The big temptation is to load too many things into priority 1, which takes me back to the original problem. It's been helpful to have a rule to determine if something really belongs in priority 1.
The big stress relief comes from looking at my to-do list and seeing just 2-5 items that are priority 1 for today. It's a small universe, it feels do-able, and lets me know in a glance what has to be done today. Everything else is optional. Having things laid out this way is great for really busy days - I can crank through the "must do's" and even there's dozens of things that don't get done I know without a second glance I've done what has to be done today.
You can apply this with almost any system you use. Every electronic to-do list manager I've ever used allows you to assign priorities and you could even do this with paper so I encourage you to give it a try. It's done wonders for me, and less stress equals more and better quality work.
Do you have any to-do list tricks you use? Tell me about them in the comments.
If you're thinking of starting a creative solopreneur business or already have one, you can learn exactly what skills you need to make your business a success in my free e-course "5 Essential Skills for Solopreneur Success," Visit http://www.michelechristensen.com to sign up and you'll also get a free subscription to my Solopreneur Strategy Newsletter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_S_Christensen
Begin Your Day the Night Before
By Michele S Christensen
One of the biggest factors in whether or not I have an enjoyable, productive day is how I end the day before. As a solopreneur, your personal life and business life tend to blend together, so some of these ideas relate to non-work things.
Do a little planning
One of my biggest productivity killers is staring at my to-do list and trying to figure out what to work on before I've even gotten anything done. I have a hard time getting into gear when I have to wade through dozens of tasks just to figure out what to do before I can even do anything. To combat this, I get my tasks and priorities lined up the night before. It's the last work item I tackle for the day, so at whatever time I decide to quit for the day I spend 5-10 minutes making sure I can hit the ground running the next day.
Know when to quit
As a solopreneur, you to-do list is massive and never-ending. You'll never get it all done, so a big part of your time management has to be deciding what doesn't get done. Part of this is knowing when to stop working for the day. Quite literally, you could be up all night and not get it all done or even feel on top of things, so it's important to have a set time at which you stop working. When I work in the evenings I try to make sure I have a set quitting time that gives me time to end my day, relax and get to bed on time.
Park on a downhill slope
This means that you leave your work in a condition that makes restarting easy. In the time leading up to quitting time, try to find a good place to stop. If there is no good place to stop, make sure to leave yourself some notes so you can jump back in without figuring out where you were. You'd be surprised how much you can forget in one day, and spending 30 seconds leaving yourself well-positioned to restart can save many minutes of headaches later.
Have an end-of-day routine
Make a short list of what you need to do at the end of the day to start your next day off right. Once you've wrapped up work, consider what personal chores would make your next morning run smoothly. I like to set up my coffee the night before, and sometimes I set up a load of laundry so I can start it as soon as I get up. You might want to pack your lunch, lay out your clothes or pack your bag for an early meeting. Doing these tasks the day before can help you have less-hassled morning.
Sketch out a schedule
Be sure to peek at your schedule for the next day so you're not caught unaware of an early obligation. Create a rough outline of what you'll be working on during which time windows. You can always change your mind, but having a plan gives you something to work from.
What else?
What do you do at the end of the day to ensure a strong start to the next day? Share it in the comments.
If you're thinking of starting a creative solopreneur business or already have one, you can learn exactly what skills you need to make your business a success in my free e-course "5 Essential Skills for Solopreneur Success," Visit http://www.michelechristensen.com to sign up and you'll also get a free subscription to my Solopreneur Strategy Newsletter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_S_Christensen
How To Live A Clutter Free Life By Going Easier On Yourself
By Marilyn Bohn
I lift weights at the gym 5 days a week. My gym membership allows me to have a personal trainer who instructs me what to do for my weight routines. Usually he says to do "X" number of reps four or five times and then I go off to do what he told me to do. One day instead of giving me a certain amount of reps he said do them until I couldn't do anymore. That made it even harder. I kept saying to myself "listen to your muscles, listen to your muscles" you can do more. Without a definite goal to reach for I found myself getting tired quicker and actually doing fewer reps than I normally do.
On the other hand many times we set high expectations for ourselves which may not be realistic. We write lists of "things to do" and are encouraged by others to do more, do more, and push yourself harder and higher. My aunt was a great example of this thinking pattern. I remember as a little child when I would stay with her for a few weeks every summer she would get up before the sun was up. I would hear her in the kitchen well past midnight canning fruits and veggies. Burning the candle at both ends seemed to be her mantra as she was determined to complete everything on her "things to do" list every day and saw it as failure if she didn't.
Life happens and our situation changes from day to day. It is not a crime if we don't get everything done that we had planned on doing that day. Living a clutter free life is possible if we take it one step at a time. It is necessary and important to have goals as this gives us direction and actually makes life easier-as I found out the difference between having a certain weight lifting goal and not having a specific goal.
Its okay if we don't reach our goals every day, there is another day. Knowing what you want to accomplish every day however is key to a clutter free life. Sometimes it is important to give ourselves a break and not to be so hard on ourselves when we didn't get everything done we wanted on that day.
We are all busy women and men and we do have a lot of projects and responsibilities we need or want to accomplish each week. One organizing tool that is invaluable to getting organized and accomplishing tasks is to have and use a planner. Use a planner that works for you. It doesn't matter if it is electronic or paper.
Decide what type of planner you are more comfortable with and use it daily. A few years ago when palm pilots were just out I thought I had to have one. A friend of mine showed me how to use it and I tried it for 30 days all the while still writing in my paper planner. I found with my life style and what I was used to doing the electronic one did not work for me. I went back to my paper planner and I continue to use it successfully.
Make it a habit to write down appointments, set up a master to do list and a daily to do list in your planner. Random pieces of paper can get lost but if you have written it in your planner it won't be lost and the bonus is you can check it off when you have accomplished the task. Keep addresses and phone numbers in your planner so you can access them no matter where you are.
It is fun to make goals and strive to accomplish them. With a planner it is easier to do. But, there is another day so if you don't reach your goal on one day, don't be so hard on yourself, move it ahead to do it another day. It will be okay.
Get It Together Organizing is a dynamic organizing company providing both online and in home services. Marilyn specializes in organizing for women and seniors who want the organized home of their dreams.
Marilyn's product line includes cutting-edge on line video workshops that are one-of-a-kind. They give you instant access to solutions for your organizing needs for the home and everything in it. She gives visual step by step instruction on how to get rid of clutter to reach your organizing goals.
Click here for your free organizing newsletter at http://www.marilynbohn.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marilyn_Bohn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)