How to stop being busy, and focus on being productive!
I really resent busy work. You know the work where you are very busy, but at the end of the day you are exhausted and you wonder “what did I accomplish today?” Or, you spend the day putting out small fires, reacting to every email, text, DM, or phone call, and you look at the time and realize three-quarters of the things on your to-do list you didn’t start much less complete? Or, work that just doesn’t feel very important, but needs to be done? Yes, these are considered busy work, or low-value work.
Busy work is part of our work days and has a way of demanding our full and immediate attention; however, it’s important to have a system in place that allows you to decide what to do with the task first before you jump in and start working away. Systems and tools support you in assessing daily, weekly or monthly tasks and choosing which task needs to be done and when. Your first consideration is asking yourself “do I need to work on this item, and if yes, do I need to work on it immediately?” This is how you prioritize.
Prioritizing means you determine which tasks require your attention and when. You take control of the 1,000 things coming at you each day and decide which ones are urgent, important, and not important. The urgent ones you prioritize, such as tasks with immediate deadlines and you may want to work on these first each morning. Sometimes, these are the tasks we try to delay but aim to tackle these first so you can celebrate and lean into the endorphins, or feel-good hormones, that your body produces. The mini-celebration will give you some energy to push through your other tasks. Next, work on the important tasks, and celebrate when you are finished, maybe by making something delicious for lunch or dinner, listening to a favourite song, or calling a special family member or friend for a quick pick-me-up conversation.
By starting your day focussed on your urgent tasks, and then completing your important tasks, what remains are the unimportant items on your to-do list. I have learned from other business owners that it is best to delegate some of these tasks to someone on your team, if this is an option, particularly if they are regular items. If you cannot delegate those tasks, then group them together and complete them during a scheduled time, perhaps the last hour of your workday. I sometimes find I have a surge of energy between 4 and 5 pm, so I will quickly work through those items. Then I end my day feeling productive by checking off a few more items on my to-do list and taking that energy into my evening. Plus, I won’t have to deal with those tasks the next day…yay!
Being able to prioritize tasks is an important skill we each must develop. We live in societies that are very fast-paced and we are bombarded with notifications that want our immediate attention. Knowing what to ignore and what to give your full attention to helps us manage our time better and be much more productive. One way I use to maintain my focus is to receive notifications from the social media accounts on my cell phone in an evening summary. You can change the settings on your phone and receive all your notifications with updates, comments, and likes at the same time every day. I receive my evening summary at 6 pm. I love this because I am less distracted throughout the day and I give myself 30 minutes after dinner to read, like, and share posts from my social media accounts.
Thank you for reading! Let me know your tips on being productive and prioritizing your tasks.