Let’s be honest: your to-do list is stressing you out.
While its purpose is to get your life organised and keep you on track, it’s far too easy to get overwhelmed by everything on it.
The good thing to remember is that while your to-do list will most likely always have something on it, the goal isn’t necessarily to get it empty. There are ways to manage your tasks in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you.
So, let’s look at some techniques to help clear the brain clutter and maximise your productivity.
I've got a couple of methods that you can use to get yourself refocused and back on track. They’ll also help you allow yourself to rest, reset and redirect your energy to the right places and spaces.
I take you through the practical steps of creating a priority list, which will help you get things in the right order and ready to action. We’ll also talk about my current favourite: the five-minute list. This is a great way to break down which tasks can be completed in five minutes, so you can start crossing things off on the daily in a manageable way.
The best thing you can do for yourself is learn lots of different methods for productivity and work out which suits you best. The solution might even be a hybrid of a few.
My advice? Just get started. Trialling different options will help you explore and enhance your individual productivity style - and no doubt help create the balanced and fulfilling life you’re looking for.
We're going to look at techniques to clear the brain clutter and maximise your productivity I've got a couple of methods that you can use to get yourself refocused and [00:01:00] back on track. And this is so important as sometimes we get so overwhelmed with our mental load that we just need to clear some of that brain clutter and allow ourselves to rest, reset and refocus our energy to the right places, the right time.
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This is a matrix style template that I used to use quite a bit. To tackle the task, grab a piece of paper and divide the page into four. In the top left corner, you write important, urgent. In the top right corner, you write important, not urgent. the lower left corner, you write not important.
But urgent and in the lower right corner, not important, not urgent. Next, you start to work through your list of everything you need to do. Be it from your head, or the thousand post it notes stuck to the bottom of your computer screen, mangled to do list. Writing them into categories of urgent important, so the things that must be done within the next few days, to urgent next.
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I use this method for a few years, but found up everything was ending in two groups. And it wasn't helping me as I then spent a lot of time sorting them further. My current method focuses on my life categories. Now, if you haven't worked out your 10 categories, have a listen to episode 12 for guidance on how to get your list together.
I grab a blank page for each category. Write the category name at top, including one called general, which is my catch all for things that don't fit into any other category. Then give yourself 5 to 10 minutes and start writing down everything that you need under each category. Small or big, get it out of your head, onto paper, in the area you need it.
Next, the fun doesn't stop there
under each category, I grab a highlighter and I put a mark over any task that will take no more than 5 minutes. I then go through the list again with a different colour pen and put a little star in front of any task that is urgent. So must be completed within the next few days.
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Next, grab your diary or open it if it's electronic and schedule in how you're going to complete all of the urgent tasks. If there is not enough time, can you delegate? Do you need to request more time for completion? Or do you need to move things in your diary that aren't as urgent so you can get these tasks done?
And then get to it. I only focus on crossing off the five minute or less tasks and the priority tasks. All the other tasks can sit to the side for now Keep your five minute or less tasks At a set time each day, otherwise you can find that these are getting done to procrastinate on your other urgent tasks.
ent and some may have fallen [:
Always try and make one of them a frog, being tasks you're avoiding, and then the other two tasks or actions you need to complete. Hopefully by now you have reset your overwhelm and your brain feels lighter. At this point, also check in with yourself to make sure the tasks you're doing are contributing to your purpose and your preparedness.
rrow's list just accumulates [:
but when things start to get tricky, Well, sticky again, you can now practice one of the techniques we've just discussed to reset yourself. I love questions and feedback. So keep it coming on how this technique is working for you. Send me an email at hello at balance at hand.
