Being an entrepreneur is difficult. How will you stay productive in this business and make sure that you are paying attention to the important areas? Always remember that like every other entrepreneur; you are also a self starter.
Also it means that you don’t have to follow a daily book of rules. There are many entrepreneurs who are breaking new grounds and learning new things through obstacles and daily situations.
Yes it can be a little daunting and a little scary to think where you would like to focus all your energies every single day. Should you like to spend the day trying to create a marketing copy for that product or will you speak to the customers and try to get a response on some exciting product. It might feel as though there is not much time to meet every single demand.
A smart thing that most people do is that they create a To Do list. This can also be quite helpful. And this is the reason why: there are plenty of those who use the To Do list to finish their work on time.
How to Master the Art of To-Do Lists Effectively:
1. Work on your schedule:
It is amazing to see how much work people can finish when given a lot of work on time. A to do list is not about running regular errands, that you will need to accomplish at any given cost! You have to focus on finishing all the things mentioned in the last. So make sure to pick that one day where you have enough control over time and finish what you were hoping to.
2. Get up early:
Trying to build a new momentum is quite important. Even though waking up at five am might not be a regular thing to do for you, it could help you. What do you think will give you a good start: getting up at 10 am just because it makes you comfortable. The choice is yours !!
3. Collect:
If there are tasks and projects that are just there and need to completed at any cost, you need to put them together and collect them into one list. One thing you can do here is get hold of the list of all the things you would like to accomplish. Make sure to have a piece of paper in front of you always, for help.
4. Know what the end should look like:
So what does the end look like according to you? Every task that you do should have a clear goal and purpose beyond than just doing it. You could spend the whole day trying to complete the list you have just made and accomplish nothing at all if you are not sure of the final picture. So be sure and make sure that you know what the final picture looks like.
5. Make sure you have enough time alone:
This is also another technique we would request you to try. Unplug your phone and the internet if the need arises and make sure you are alone. Lock yourself up if you have to. All you have to do is make sure there are no interruptions that won’t break your focus. A few hours of complete focus can help you accomplish what you want instead of plenty of days of multitasking.
6. Put all the difficult tasks on top of the list:
Check out the biggest and hardest of tasks from the start and then get on to them. Putting off all the hard work surely means it won’t be done ultimately. Also when you put all the tough things to do at first, you can build a momentum that will allow you to focus easily.
7. Give yourself a few breaks:
Without going out on it for several hours, you should do some mental straining especially if you aren’t used to it. Our suggestion would be to you to set it short but give yourself a few meaningful breaks. And do not advance so that you aren’t tempted in any way to neglect the work you are supposed to finish.
8. Take breaks when it is really needed:
The breaks that you take while working should match with the difficulty of the task, not with the amount you spend on it. You are trying to complete a report and you know it will take you 90 minutes to complete. So take a deep breath when you are working on it and then take a break if you like.
9. Try to be patient:
Yes it will take you some time to build up the speed. When you are writing something, it takes some time to get an idea on what you want to write. During this period, the temptation is to give up and move on to something much easier. Make sure to get rid of that temptation and stay patient.
10. Give yourself some meaningful rewards:
If you can finish your to do list, then take a break at least. Go out and watch your favourite tv show, grab some dinner or catch up with a few friends. It is totally worthy to give yourself a break or treat once you complete your work on time.
11. Is it all that important?
You should cross off all those items that don’t have long term importance. So make sure to purify your to do list and remove all the unimportant ones. So if your to do list does not make any sense to you, it is probably not all that important.
12. Keep your to do list very simple:
There should not be more than three things on your to do list for everyday. Some of the most successful people in the world do not have more than one item on their list. If there is just one thing you can do today in order to push your business forward, what will that one thing according to you be? Make that number one item on your to do list.
13. Try to energize yourself:
You can always energize yourself by changing your food habits as well as your exercise routine. This will give you enough energy for the rest of the day. Also you should focus on eating lighter foods and avoid sugar filled foods.
Drink water as much as you can and have smaller meals every two hours. Your goal here is to come up with a diet that will boost your fluid levels and keep your body energized for the rest of the day.
14. Exercise:
Exercise is a good thing and a great idea. But whether you should go to the gym or try an intense project, attacking the day is what matters. If you go by our suggestions, I would say going for a quick run will give you much more energy to finish the tasks faster. But if your exercise is long and is prescheduled, then you should leave it and just focus on the list you want to complete.
15. Get hold of resources that are way ahead of time:
Please do make sure that you have all the tools and information that is needed in order to finish the job. Nothing will feel as bad as a list that is half finished because you will have to wait on the information from another party.
16. Don’t spread it out:
Try not to spread out all your tasks when you are working like it is butter. You should finish large chunks of work in a shorter period of time. So spreading you results that are too thin is just half the effort to be precise.
17. Write it the night before:
Don’t write your to do list on the day you are supposed to start. We would say you should start on the night before. Think of a plan and how you are going to go about the day. That should surely help.
Finally:
If you follow all these steps, you will surely be able to counteract all problems and reach your goals as soon as possible. Even though it can get a little tough at times, keep going and don’t stop at all. You will benefit immensely. Plus if you have liked this post and have some comments and ideas you would like to post, feel free to drop a comment below. We would love to hear from you. And questions are also welcome from your end. It will be a pleasure to answer all of them.
