Now it is a rarity, but occasionally I find myself overwhelmed. And I’ll know I’ve hit rock bottom when I reach my desk, a desk literally overflowing, a desk so busy that I can’t focus my gaze, let alone my attention on any one task. I’ll want to move something, anything, just to set down the coffee and files I’m holding only to find that the stacks are already precariously positioned. So I set the files in the desk chair and survey the situation. In addition to the stacks of the unfiled and unattended, there are remnants of old to-do lists and scores of multi-colored sticky notes lining nearly every vertical surface. Some of the notes are scrawled so archaically that I need a background in forensics to decipher them.
The first thing to do is sift through all the bits of paper, make stacks, and start a new to-do list. A fresh to-do list will rescue me and create focused order from these disembodied pieces. And that’s the trap.
While to-do lists are an attractive “catch-all” for making sure that nothing slips through the cracks, they also tempt me to focus on busy work rather than production and results. So I instituted an innovative system that turns my thinking around. Instead of “to-dos” or a task list, I keep a priority list and a landing page.
Priority List
What goes on my priority list? Important activities that yield outcomes only! For instance, if my strategic goal is to attract clients in a new market, then any sub-task of that goal will appear here such as, brainstorm new marketing message or change web site verbiage. Priority list space is retained for critical path activities that truly meet my goals. These are the items that truly move you forward toward your big goals.
Landing Page
What goes on my landing page? Tasks, to-dos, the business of living and business. Anything I don’t want to slip through the cracks. This is about treading water. You have to get to this stuff, but it usually doesn’t move your forward.
Ask yourself, is my goal to make busy or make progress? If you can finish 4 – 6 tasks on the priority list each day, you are ahead of 90% of the white collar employees in the world!
Tags: landing page, priorities, productivity, to-do