It is officially August. The nights (in Ottawa, at least) are starting to get longer and definitely cooler. The back-to-school ads are on full force (while many states have already gone back to school). The fall is a heartbeat away, and, like many of you, I’m looking at my summer to-do list to see what I’ve done—and, of course, what I haven’t.
I’m guessing I’m not the only one who hasn’t made that list disappear. In the spring, I had terrific intentions for what I would get done this summer. Business is a little slower for me, and I spend time Monday through Friday in my office. I had an idea list and a to-do list that I had every intention of getting done.
While I have certainly done a lot of it, I still have a lot to do, considering my deadline is less than a month away.
I am an optimistic overachiever, and I know that means my expectations and reality are not often aligned. I want to get a lot done. I can get a lot done, but I rarely complete the entire list.
As I’m planning my last few weeks of slower business that doesn’t involve travel, I have committed to making many of the tasks on my list disappear. If you want to feel like you can perform magic tricks and make that list disappear, follow these steps:
- Open a blank document and do a brain dump on everything you said you would get done this summer (or over the past year if that is better for you). This magic doesn’t have to be all work related, as you can easily create two lists. One for your personal life and one for the work list you committed to doing. Write it all down, and don’t edit as you go. It’s a brain dump – not a pretty document.
Business:
- Clean up my inbox
- Set up rules for color-coding incoming emails
- Check into getting my professional certification
- Upgrade my LinkedIn profile
- Get testimonials on LinkedIn
- Attend one webinar per quarter to improve my skills
- Read about new AI programs that will help keep me updated
Personal:
- Clean out my closet
- Wxercise three times per week
- Weed my flower/vegetable gardens weekly
- Save 2% of my weekly paycheck into the “Vacation” account
- Clean up my friends on Facebook
- Get a minimum of 5000 steps daily
- Go to bed by 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday
The list will be overwhelming and likely lengthy. Don’t add new ideas; instead, ask yourself what activities you have said you would do this summer or over the past year if that is your criteria.
- When the list is done, take ONE thing and do it immediately. If you have ever attended any of my time management workshops or webinars, you know that I have a three-minute rule. If it takes less than three minutes to do something, do it. This rule doesn’t apply while you are writing the list, but when it is completed, find ONE thing you can strike off because it was quick and easy.
- Find TWO things on the list that you can commit to starting this week. You don’t need to complete the task, but youmust get it started. Put two more things into motion every week.
You will visit the list weekly, and each week, two more things begin to get implemented, and one quick win is added. Be careful what you choose weekly, as the first two things you selected may not be finished yet.
This is my summer for gardening, so most nights (weather dependent), we walk down our road to our mailbox (helps with the steps and activity), and then we water all the plants in our yard. This is an hour most nights with the vegetable garden and all my flowers this year. I’ve been learning to deadhead my flowers differently (and the results are showing)! These two tasks are still ongoing, but we add two more each week (not all in the yard).
Professionally I am cleaning up my computer. I got a new one this year, and I have far too many files that won’t ever be needed, many versions of the same things (like PPT presentations).
These two things will not be completed in one week, so as I add more items each week, I’m mindful of the time they will take me. The computer cleanup alone will be on my list for many months. While I may never have a perfectly clean computer, I feel so much satisfaction each time I spend a little time on it!
- Find THREE things on the list that you’ve decided you aren’t going to do at all. Permit yourself to let go of whatever you thought you wanted to do.
My database has always taken a lot of time, and I used to want to keep it as thorough as possible. I tried to sort the database by city or state. I realized I didn’t need to do that, so we stopped updating the address, company info, etc. I realize I like things “complete,” and the time spent doing that wasn’t a good use of my time or Pooja’s time. So, we stopped updating that section of our database.
Each week, I add things to the “this week” list—many small things—so that I quickly see the list starting to disappear, just like magic! I don’t make a point of removing items from the list each week, but I have found that I occasionally do. It is getting easier to let it go.
Like all magic, there is a method for getting the results you want. As a child, I believed in true magic. As an adult, I know that it is just an illusion that looks like magic. Making my tasks disappear is not true magic, but by following these steps, you can make things disappear!
Taking control of my task list feels good. I feel more in control, and that alone feels magical!
This article was written by Rhonda Scharf and not by Artificial Intelligence.
