When Life Throws You Off Track
Most of the time, we have such good intentions to get things done.
But then the unexpected happens and it can throw us completely off track. Where we find ourselves reacting to getting stuff done on our to-do list rather than working on the action items that will grow our business.
This was me … last month I went on a retreat down to Ft Lauderdale for business and it literally took my schedule down.
While I learned a lot at the retreat about myself and how to keep growing my business { plus I made some incredible connections with the people who attended – seriously, there’s no better way to expand your community than meeting others in person! }, it took me a good two weeks before I could get back to my usual productive self.
During those two chaotic weeks, I learned another big lesson about how to manage my time when life shakes things up — even though it was something good for my business rather than a medical emergency or some other disruptive force trying to take over my attention.
I learned that when you remove the things that you THINK you need to do and focus on the stuff that is important to your business, you take yourself out of freak out mode and put yourself back into control.
What did I do to focus my attention to the things that I needed to do to put myself back in control?
It wasn’t as hard as you think. I didn’t use any fancy app or put myself on a distraction-free diet. I created a process for myself with simple steps to get myself back on track:
1. Schedule what you’ll be doing tomorrow before you stop work for the day.
As you finish up your day, set aside about 15 minutes before you log off of your laptop to plan out the next day.
Review what got done and what you still need to work on. Ask yourself, “If this didn’t get done tomorrow, what would happen?”
Like I would ask myself, “If I didn’t update my business Facebook page for the week, what would happen if this doesn’t get done?” Nothing, I told myself. Not a darn thing. So I skipped it for the week.
But when I asked myself what would happen if I didn’t get that invoice sent out, my answer was, “I won’t get paid.”
After I went through my to-do list with my ‘what would happen’ question, I made my list for the next day of items that were important for my business.
2. Limit your to-do list
To keep yourself on course with what you’ve decided you need to get done, make sure that you limit the number of items on your list.
Remember that you’ve shifted some things over to the next day that you didn’t get done. So when you start trying to add in even more minor tasks, you’ll overload your to-do list.
You have a limited amount of time in your day so make sure that you’re focusing on your MITs { Most Important Tasks } that you know will directly grow your business like replying to emails that will connect you to new customers or creating content that will bring in new income.
And I get it – sometimes these MITs are the biggest tasks that take the longest to accomplish and its easy to think that doing a few smaller tasks will help you get more done in your day.
But doing busy work isn’t the same as being productive and working on your MITs that will help you make money.
Work on our MITs when you first sit down to your desk. If you put them off and just do busy work, you will lose control of your schedule and run out of time to get the real work done to help you keep moving your business forward.
3. Give yourself time to get into the zone
I wrote a whole post about how to get into zone – Simple Tips to Increase Your Productivity.
Every day I would sit down to my desk with the idea that I would use my own steps to get into the zone. Within an hour of my laptop humming, I got into what I call the Goldilocks Flow of the work zone.
It was not too hard. It was not too easy. I was working without any frustration.
It was just right.
Being in the zone only works when it’s something you’re not thinking about how you’re doing the work. You’re just doing it.
I removed all interruptions – shut off my notifications, closed out my email, logged off social media, shut off my usual podcasts and turned on my music.
4. And about that email thing
I took this a step further than the usual advice of “Don’t check your email first thing in the morning.”
For me, I can easily fall down the email rabbit hole for hours. Email ranks higher as a time suck for me over social media.
I admit during the weeks I was trying to get back on track that I would do a quick scan of my email when I first got up in the morning. But when I got to my desk, I took control of my email. I set up two times a day when I would check my email – before I went to lunch and before I logged off for the day.
I would only respond to an email when it was time to do the client work that was connected to that specific email. I batched email communication into the time I set aside to work on my client’s project. If the client responded back to me, I would reply during my two check-in times or it would get carried over to the next day if I needed to finish up my work with them.
5. Measure what you accomplish, not your time
Often when we think about getting more done, we go on the search for a productivity method to help us finish our work in less time.
I know how this works.
Not only have I blogged about it – here with Three Ways to Get More Hours in Your Day and this post where I detail the Five Habits I Do Every Day to Get More Done – I follow these steps every week to make sure that I’m making the most of my valuable time.
But during the time I was trying to get back on track, I used my steps as a guide but put my focus on the things I was able to truly cross off my list for the day. I broke down each task into the smallest of action items and every time I checked something off as done, it added to my momentum to keep pushing me forward.
Combine my daily momentum, eliminating distractions to help me move right into the zone and scheduling my day with a limited to-do list, it didn’t take me long to get myself back on course with my usual weekly schedule. I don’t follow this strict routine every week but now I know that when I find myself in that place where I’m just reacting to my to-do list, I know how to regain control of my schedule.
Want more tips to get more done in your day?
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