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Our to-do lists often contain far more items than we can realistically achieve in a single day or even a week. It's not about getting more done. It's about getting the first things done first.
Purge the temp files from your brain.
As En Vogue sang in the early 90's, "Free Your Mind!" Get EVERYTHING you want to do now or in the future out of your head and onto paper or your favorite online notebook or task list, like OneNote or Microsoft To Do. Your brain is a horrible place to store things. It's like a computer. You need to free up space so that it can work on processing things more efficiently.
You may find the best time to do this is the evening before. Having recorded and organized your thoughts before you hit the sack can help your mind relax for a good night's rest, knowing you have a plan for tomorrow.
Definitely do this BEFORE checking your email or scrolling on your phone. Don't go looking for more to do. You already have enough, and you'll rarely find activities of purpose there.
Select three things from your list.
I maintain separate task lists for when I'm at home and when I'm at work so that I can focus on only those things I'm in a place to deal with at the time. Review your pertinent list and select three things that, if you did them and nothing else, would mean you made progress toward your ultimate purpose in your life and work. The three tasks you choose should be genuinely achievable within your day.
Do not add a fourth task to your list for today until you have completed your three.
If something else feels important, decide which of the other two tasks you are willing to remove. STICK TO ONLY THREE TASKS!
Next, from those three tasks, determine which ONE task, if completed today—even if the other two are not—would have the most significant impact or align best with your purpose in your work or life. Focus on that one first.
Avoid the expectation of finishing any projects in their entirety. Instead, identify one step in a project that, if completed today, would move it forward. Make that step one of your three tasks.
Need a reality check on what you can realistically achieve in a day?
Take your three tasks and block out the time you truly need for them on your calendar. You will quickly see why focusing on just three tasks is essential. Once you have scheduled them for specific times, treat these tasks as appointments. If you were in a meeting or a dental appointment, you wouldn’t allow disruptions. So, don’t let others or distractions like email notifications divert your attention.
Be mindful of your environment to minimize distractions. Set your phone to do-not-disturb mode. Disable new email alerts on your computer. Log out of instant messaging platforms. Find ways to kindly signal to others that you are in focus mode, whether by closing your door or displaying a friendly sign on your desk that says something like, "I'm focused on a task. Please email me." Use custom voicemail greetings and email autoresponders to indicate a specific time you’ve scheduled on your calendar for responding to messages. "I'm working on a deadline, but I've set aside time today at 1:00 to reply to you." Unless you are a firefighter, there’s no need to rush to every perceived urgency, which likely isn’t an emergency at all.
Bottom Line
Multi-tasking is overrated. Choose no more than three things to place on your plate for the day. Decide which one will be most impactful and begin with it. And, no, going through your inbox is not it. Then, set boundaries on distractions and structure your day using your calendar. You'll be amazed how much more of what matters you get done and done right in your day.
By Matthew Plummer, CEO of MVP Realty Group, balancing business and life for more than two decades.