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
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