Let me ask you a question. How often has any of the following thoughts occurred to you?
“I seriously don’t have enough time!”
“Oh no, how could I forget that task?”
“How am I expected to manage SO many things at once?”
Roughly, atleast once a day huh? It used to happen to me, too. Being a part of a small business means that you will naturally have a hundred things on your mind. And when you can’t manage all your tasks and responsibilities, it’s guaranteed chaos.
So it was only recently that I discovered the value of a little something called ‘To-Do lists.’ It’s a simple enough concept, (and quite an obvious one, if you think about it) but so often, most of us fail to do it.
All you need to do is spend some time, as soon as you come to work/school (that’s right – do not check email the first thing in the morning!) to think
about your day/week ahead. Trust me, you will realize soon enough that those 15 minutes are not a waste of time!
Use some trusted system to jot down your notes and lists – something that you will keep looking at an ongoing basis. This way, you do not need to bother about losing out on doing any important tasks, because you will keep going back to that system regularly. A pencil and scratchpad would do just fine, as long as you’re comfortable with it. (P.S: I recently started using Microsoft’s One Note and I’ve become a huge fan ever since). This way you can also link it to your calendar to mark tasks that need to be delivered by a particular time. Tip: Use that system to also jot down ideas that occur to you while you are working.
Always write down ‘actionable items’ in your list. For instance lets say your task for the day is to “Finish project X”. What would be the first thing you would do to finish Project X that day? Call Bob? Go to Google? Run down to the library for a reference book? Whatever it is, write that Step 1 down. Makes your job a whole lot organized.
Do you have any special tips to manage your daily
routine? Do let us know!
