Last week we moved, and next week we get married. Whilst I am thoroughly enjoying each day, one cannot deny that there is a lot that has happened, is happening, and needs to happen. Even though we find a lot of time to laugh during the day, and pick out little moments that make each day unique, there certainly are times where I catch myself feeling unsure as to what exactly it is I’m supposed to tackle next. Do we rearrange one of the rooms, or leave it because the wedding is looming and all of the things? Do we add a few more songs to the playlist or look at getting one of the outdoor lights repaired? Do we take another look at the run sheet for a version update or just lock in in? Do we even think about the Overland track at this stage? The sunrise has started to poke through the trees, do I stop and watch it? Yes, absolutely.
These are some of the questions running through my mind, and all of them require a lot of work to make it happen. Exciting work, for sure. So where does one even begin? For me, one of the things that has helped is to start with a list:
- Write down everything that needs to happen
- Break these tasks down further into sub tasks
- Have a coffee
- Look at all of these tasks and break it down into what’s urgent, what’s important, and what’s not
- Build your daily plan from here
- Put longer term items into your weekly and monthly plans
- Check back in daily
Using lists has helped me to counter the feeling that everything needs to happen at once. Intuitively we know that this is not true. Yet it’s difficult to think this when we do have the volume of tasks we all have in our daily lives, coupled with the expectations and demands from others. The questions above were only focused on the big personal activities. We haven’t even added on the daily life (do we have everything we need for dinner?) and work tasks that also occupy my time and attention (I have eight urgent emails that others are flagging, and my boss also needs a report prepared, and I should reply to five CRM cases to clients). There can be a lot of things on our plates.
Breaking down these tasks allows us to focus deeply on smaller steps that we need to take. It helps to provide structure to the order of tasks, and means that we can break bigger tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks which we can then fit into our day based on our schedules. And our schedules vary from day to day. Sometimes, just a broad statement of the bigger things is enough. Other times, we need to break it down because life is happening and we only have 30 minutes we can spare.
Here’s an example from our seating chart:
- Wait for the RSVP deadline
- Group guests into categories – e.g. kraken, friends, family
- Tally up the number for each group and check if that fits a table size
- Where there is overflow, look at who will be best seated with others
- Review the draft table seating plan
- This then gives you how many people for each table – tell the venue
- Then decide on seating and let venue know
- Find a seating chart template from VistaPrint and place the order
Once we had this outlined, we knew where we could focus our efforts. It also helped us to focus too, because we are just deciding one thing. For me, it also helps me to focus, as I know I need to draw my attention to this one tasks. Afterwards, I can keep my focus on the next task, or take some time out and check emails.
Whilst these are focused on one item, having the daily list allows you to incorporate your daily tasks into an actionable list. Not that this tempers spontaneity or creativity. Rather, it helps provide structure so you can look at what’s important, and make sure that you focus on what you decide you need to focus on. Additionally, it helps with longer term projects. Need to write a draft proposal by week’s end? Great, today is to prepare a basic outline, then I put that to the side and focus on CRM enquiries and day-to-day, and make sure I drop into Woolies on the way home for peas and carrots.
So I encourage you to use lists. It helps us to be realistic about how we can accomplish in one day (not as much as we like to think), and provides the structure to ensure that we can continue on bigger tasks throughout the weeks and months (where we can accomplish much more than we think we can).