Would you answer the following question for me, please? How do you get things done? If your answer is “Just do it” or a variation of it, I suggest you don’t read any further. You don’t need to! But I would be thrilled if you leave behind a helpful tip – I would love to learn from you. For the rest of you… if you struggle to get through the day with loads to do and hardly any time left to do it in; read on…
This weekend was the laziest we’ve had in months! My husband and I did almost nothing all weekend. We did have loads of fun, though! We had a family movie night, played with the kids, went to church, and just relaxed the rest of the time. It was refreshing for a change – just what we needed.
In no way do I regret how we spent this weekend, but here’s the downside – Monday morning arrived! (Oh yeah, stay-at-home moms dread Monday mornings too – at least, this one does :).) With nothing done all weekend, I ended up harried, frustrated and unusually scatterbrained this morning. When it was 10AM and I still felt overwhelmed and hadn’t got anything done, I knew it was time to buckle up and strategize.
Here’s what I proceeded to do:
- I emptied my brain – I opened up a fresh page in my planner and jotted down every single thing that was on my mind. That included 4 lists: To Do, To Call, To Mail & To Buy.
- I figured, since the To Do list seemed to have the most urgent and important things, I would start with that – it had 30 items (Nope, not kidding!).
- I browsed through the list and found the one thing I would absolutely have to do. The one thing that would prepare my mind for the rest of the day – for me, that was reading my Bible & praying.
- I looked through the list and noted down all those things that could wait till tomorrow. I moved them over to tomorrow’s To Do list.
- I took a few colored pens and color coded the remaining items according to importance. Those marked red, I would have to complete by noon. The green ones, should be completed by late afternoon. And the ones in blue could wait till evening.
- And then I started working on the list right away, striking things off as I progressed.
It is now evening and I have exactly 6 things left on my list. And I’m pretty sure hubby dearest will help me with half of those 😉 – which leaves me with only 3 more things to do in the next 5 hours. I’m pretty sure I will be able to strike everything off today’s To Do list.
Tomorrow, I intend to repeat the same procedure all over again. If at all I find something slipping through the cracks, I will add it to my monthly goals list and force myself to get it done. Now that’s how I get things done :)! I know, it’s way too simple to be called a strategy… But hey, it works for me!
Go ahead and tell me what works for you – I would love to know!
Wishing you GOD’s best,
Sheena
I found your blog through “When Castles Crash” post you linked up at “Handful of Heart” and am loving digging around!
I love the color-coded idea. Lists are helpful, but the important things can get easily bogged down by the less important.
Okay, so this is a “just do it” tip, but one thing I’ve found helpful is the “2 minute principle”. If it will take less than two minutes to answer the email I just read, do a task or set up an appointment, do it *now*. That helps me keep my list cleared for tasks that take a bit longer. 🙂
I love the “2 minute principle” idea. I should start implementing that – but not for browsing the internet though :)!
Wow Sheena ….I love reading your blogs….do keep them coming….Good to read about maintaining the ‘to do’ lists….that way we won’t forget anything and will be satisfied seeing the completed tasks striked out…I am going to try it…
Here’s what I do:
I finish all the important tasks when the kids are not around (while my first one is at school and the little one is sleeping). That way the work gets done faster…then I get to do the ‘not so important’ tasks with the kids around….
Thank you for the encouragement, Swathika.. It means a lot to me! And thank you for the tip.. I’ll be sure to implement that!