There is actually an art form of doing to do lists. Many franchisees have these massive to do lists that overwhelm them not help them to get things done.
Now, don’t get me wrong, you need a to do list. If you are trying to remember it all in your head, you are going to forget things and not do them. You can’t do that. You need to have it on a list. I always think of the brain like a computer and if you are using up brain power to remember things, that is power you can’t use to get things done.
Prioritising your to do list is a must. Come up with a system that works for you so it might be in due date order so most urgent first. You could segment it into different categories of tasks needed. You could simply have one long list. The main thing is that it is working for you and helping you get more things done.
Did you know that when you tick something off your to do list, your body lets off some little feel good hormones? So use that and keep ticking things off.
If you have a HUGE to do list that is overwhelming you, take out a second sheet of paper and write down just the most urgent three to five things you need to do first. Put your ‘master’ to do list away – somewhere you can’t see it. Then focus just on the most urgent list of three to five things. Until you have those done, you don’t go to the master list. Once you have completed these items, then pull out the master to do list and write down the next three to five things on a separate sheet and put the master list away. This will help you feeling so overwhelmed because overwhelm often leads to total inaction where nothing gets done even though there is lots to do.
Taking 10 minutes a day to organise your day is said to save you an hour in your day and I totally believe that. Taking the time to plan your day and prioritise your to do list will not only save you time, but also stress.