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Kill Your To Do List and Be More Profitable

Guest post by: Stephanie Ward

Article Overview: I know it’s a radical idea, the death of your to-do list so bear with me while I explain. Think about it, a long to-do list is a giant energy drain and waste of time. Have you ever noticed how the list keeps growing instead of disappearing?

Kill Your To Do List and Be More Profitable

I know it’s a radical idea, the death of your to-do list so bear
with me while I explain. Think about it, a long to-do list is a
giant energy drain and waste of time. Have you ever noticed how
the list keeps growing instead of disappearing?

Imagine waking up every morning feeling confident that you have
enough time to accomplish the goals you have set for the day.
Picture yourself wrapping things up at the end of the day
knowing that you have not wasted your time or energy and that
the actions you completed are supporting you in creating a
profitable business.

Intrigued? The great news is that it is simple to kill your
to-do list. Here’s how. First, take a long hard look at your
massive to-do list and put a number one next to the actions that
are high priority (I know, I hear you shouting they are all high
priority, trust me they aren’t). Go through the list again and
rank the medium priority actions with a number two and low
priority actions with a number three.

Now, get out your calendar and take each high priority action
and place it into your schedule. Choose a date that it will be
completed as well as a realistic block of time for completion
(start and finish time). Continue doing this with the medium
priority actions and finish with the low priority actions.

This will work for you no matter what kind of calendar you use.
Choose a system that works for you. The concept of integrating
your actions into your planning is much more important than the
type of calendar you use.

New opportunities do come up and you can update and adjust your
planning as needed. The difference is that now the things you
have planned are already prioritized so if something new comes
up, you will be able to consider its importance in relation to
existing priorities. This is much more effective than simply
adding another action to the bottom of a list.

Also, make sure you schedule in some free time each day for
unplanned things that come up. If you can’t find a place for
some of the low priority actions don’t worry, I have a solution
for you below (see benefit number three).

Let me confess something, I know to-do lists don’t work because
I am a former owner of a long to-do list (that never got done).
Since I killed my to-do list and consciously thought about what
I really want to get done, I am much more productive and feel
confident about the direction of my business.

Benefits for you:

1. Doing this forces you to reconsider what you are doing with
your time and this allows you to get clear about what your real
priorities are.

2. You will have a realistic picture of what you can really
accomplish in a certain time period (each day, week, month,
etc.).

3. There will probably be some things that won’t fit into your
schedule and this gives you a chance to consider dropping them
or delegating them. I like to call this your “to-don’t” list.
If you are a solopreneur and don’t have employees who can pick
up the slack, you can always outsource.

4. You will reduce overwhelm and stress because you will no
longer be confronted daily with a giant list of things you know
you won’t get done that day. This way you will get more
accomplished, stay on track, and remain focused.

5. You will feel great about the actions you plan to take each
day because you know they are aligned with your long term goals
and that doing them will move you forward toward reaching them.

Anyone who is serious about building a sustainable and
profitable business needs to be sure they are spending their
time and energy on the right things. Are you are beginning to
see that a long to-do list that isn’t prioritized with actions
that aren’t connected to a actual dates for completion isn’t
efficient?

It can be scary to integrate your to-do list into your calendar
and I promise, it is worth it. What do you have to lose? Try
it and if it doesn’t work you can always go back to the
never-ending list of things that never get done. Stop living in
denial about what you can realistically get done and choose to
plan and execute profitable actions that will grow your
business!

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