To-do lists that drive success
I have a to-do list. It is long. It has everything I need to do on it, from client deliverables to renewing car tags and signing my kid up for soccer. Behind my calendar, it is the most crucial tool I use during my day. Whether it is a client deliverable or scheduling an appointment with the pediatrician in three months, if it is not on my list, it likely will not get done.
Everyone has their own approach to the to-do list. Some keep different lists for distinct types of tasks, such as thinking, emailing, errands, or calling. Others only maintain a list of three or four items that are important. All approaches are valid and if it allows you to stay organized and remember what needs to be done, then you are winning.
Regardless of your to-do list approach, there is much on our list that does not drive your business forward. While it is easy to look at crossing items off the list as progress, it may not be making an impact on your business or getting you closer to achieving your goals.
Crossing items off the list can generate a feeling of satisfaction and/or productivity. Unfortunately, that same feeling may prevent you from taking on the high impact items that will make a significant difference in your business.
As my approach involves writing all to-dos on my list, even if they are not going to be done for three months, I create a priority list each day based on a triage of my large list. The triage focuses on deciding the best and highest use of my time based on four elements:
Is there a deadline? For small transactional activities, I pull out those due within the week. For larger projects with a deadline, I pull out a small element that can be completed each day or week.
Is someone waiting for me to act or respond? I strive to not be the bottleneck as much as possible, so this criterion is important to me.
What impact will this have? If it is going to have a high impact or deliver big results for my business, client, or family, that makes it a much higher priority.
Will this drive revenue? Our businesses need to maintain success and momentum. Making tasks that result in revenue a priority will pay off.
Every couple of weeks I review my full to-do list to update specific deadlines or information and remove no longer needed items. With each pass of that full list, I identify new opportunities to delegate or highlight those items that only I can do. If you do the same, this will then free you up to triage further to the most high-impact activities for you and your business.
Having an organized to-do list can allow you to get the high impact work complete while squeezing in transactional tasks in random small chunks of time. For example, I renewed the car’s tags online while on hold with the insurance company. It felt good to cross that simple task off the list, but also satisfying that I prioritized the lengthy process of dealing with insurance, and did not have to be stressed about getting the issue resolved at the last minute.
However you organize your to-do list is fine. The key is to ensure you are spending most of your time on activities that will drive success and have the greatest return or impact on you and your business.