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ARTICLE
Each time I return from speaking at an industry conference or event I reflect upon all of the great professionals I met, the wonderful ideas they heard and the connections they made. I’m sure they all go home with a huge to-do list for their business, and it dawned on me how overwhelming it can sometimes seem when there are so many great ideas and so little time to implement them. So, how do you choose where to start?
How do you go about shortening your to-do list? First, I think it’s important to differentiate your To-Do list from your Today list. Your Today list consists of those day to day business and personal things that you need to do to keep your business (and life) ticking over (preparing music, completing paperwork, booking events, taking the kids to school, walking the dog, eating lunch). Your To-Do list is made up of those bigger picture things that help you to grow, personally and professionally.
So many ideas, so little time
I can relate, as I’m also an entrepreneur with a small business that has grown significantly over the past few years. Shortly after I joined the National Speakers Association (the largest association of professional speakers) I was at a conference in New Orleans. It was 2½ days of non-stop sessions, social events and networking. On the last day, before we all headed home, the president of the association, Marc LeBlanc, left us with a very powerful thought.
He told us to write down all of the great ideas we had heard, both onstage and off, and prioritise them in the order in which they’d have the greatest impact on our business. Number them 1, 2, 3 and so on, then – and this is where the magic happens – he told us to keep the top three things on our lists and then get rid of the rest of the list. And he meant to physically get rid of it.
See the forest AND the trees
He told us we should only have three things to focus on, because when you have a short list, you can actually get the things done. It was hard for me to conceptualize, because I (like many of you, I’m sure) had a dry-erase board that was packed with things I wanted to do, but admittedly they were things I had also never even started. So, I erased that board and started fresh. It was liberating, but a little scary at the same time. I took a picture of it first, just in case, but I’ve never looked at the photo and I can’t even find it now.
What happened next was empowering: I actually started to get more things done by having fewer things on my list! You see, when you cross off one of thirty things on a list it feels good for a second… until you see the rest of the list. When you cross off one of only three things, it feels great. If you have a big project, break it down into smaller bites and put those on your list of three things.
What about the rest of your big list?
How do you go about shortening your to-do list? First, I think it’s important to differentiate your To-Do list from your Today list. Your Today list consists of those day to day business and personal things that you need to do to keep your business (and life) ticking over (preparing music, completing paperwork, booking events, taking the kids to school, walking the dog, eating lunch). Your To-Do list is made up of those bigger picture things that help you to grow, personally and professionally.
So many ideas, so little time
I can relate, as I’m also an entrepreneur with a small business that has grown significantly over the past few years. Shortly after I joined the National Speakers Association (the largest association of professional speakers) I was at a conference in New Orleans. It was 2½ days of non-stop sessions, social events and networking. On the last day, before we all headed home, the president of the association, Marc LeBlanc, left us with a very powerful thought.
He told us to write down all of the great ideas we had heard, both onstage and off, and prioritise them in the order in which they’d have the greatest impact on our business. Number them 1, 2, 3 and so on, then – and this is where the magic happens – he told us to keep the top three things on our lists and then get rid of the rest of the list. And he meant to physically get rid of it.
See the forest AND the trees
He told us we should only have three things to focus on, because when you have a short list, you can actually get the things done. It was hard for me to conceptualize, because I (like many of you, I’m sure) had a dry-erase board that was packed with things I wanted to do, but admittedly they were things I had also never even started. So, I erased that board and started fresh. It was liberating, but a little scary at the same time. I took a picture of it first, just in case, but I’ve never looked at the photo and I can’t even find it now.
What happened next was empowering: I actually started to get more things done by having fewer things on my list! You see, when you cross off one of thirty things on a list it feels good for a second… until you see the rest of the list. When you cross off one of only three things, it feels great. If you have a big project, break it down into smaller bites and put those on your list of three things.
What about the rest of your big list?
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 98, Pages 48-49.
