Prioritising Your Never Ending To Do List

Are you struggling to juggle a never-ending to-do list? 

You’re not alone! 

It’s so easy as a female entrepreneur, juggling work, life, and family to drop into overwhelm with the sheer volume of tasks demanding our attention. 

For me, the only thing that supports me when that so-much-to-do feeling creeps… is to focus on prioritisation.

And by prioritisation I mean a really disciplined process of prioritisation that is realistic.. 

This allows me to identify just 3 things that need to happen that day and accept that if that is all that gets done.. The world is not going to end.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not easy and it takes some serious conversations with yourself including NOT justifying or accepting that in fact there are at least 10 big things that need to be done that day…

I’ve found – that when I get SUPER clear and then give myself permission to ONLY do the 3 big things, the important stuff always gets done but the overwhelm goes away.

But here’s the thing.

All of this can become heaps easier or actually harder when you have a team.

👉 It can be EASIER – if you view the businesses priorities in a pool where the team rallies together to execute what is important.  The load is shared and the priorities get done. 

👉 It can get HARDER – if your team members are working in silo only focusing on their own ‘patch’, not aware (or not caring) about other priorities.  This can lead to one person carrying the pressure (usually you, the boss!), a sense of imbalance, resentment and a total lack of ‘we’re in this together’.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed and thining sh*t it’s only February, here are some tips on how you can get your to-do list down to the Top 3 and feel like your whole team is rallying to get the important stuff done.

1. Review and Clarify your business goals.

Yes, it’s only February and you probably only set them in the last month or two but I’m still suggesting you review them.   Maybe they aren’t specific enough, maybe they are too unrealistic or maybe they are too vague or maybe you just haven’t finalised and decided them at all!? 

By referencing your goals, you should be able to easily look at your to-do list and see which tasks and projects are the “needle movers” for the business and therefore what needs to be prioritise. 

2. Bring your team together to discuss the business goals and direction and workload. 

You can’t keep your head in the sand and hope that the workload problem will pass without discussion.  If you want the team to share the load, SHOW them the load and look at ALL the priorities and tasks together. 

Everyone understanding the broader business goals and the relevant prioritisation of various tasks and projects and how they link to the bigger picture is essential. 

3. Break It Down into chunks. 

This  maybe something you work on alone or as a team.  Breaking the big projects and any tasks that feel ‘big’ into smaller chunks that feel manageable.

4. Review or Assign timeframes

Based on the number of people you have available and keeping the “max 3 big priorities each day” pace in mind.

And finally…. 

5. Learn to SAY NO. 

It’s far too tempting and far too easy to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way.

However, as the leader in your business – you need to prioritise 2 things. Being available to your team (so they can complete their big tasks) and you completing yours.  

This process above will also highlight if there are ACTIVITIES that are being scheduled that aren’t a priority and therefore as just being done ‘because’. 

Looking at this critically will help you lean up workload and take away some bloat from your team which is a total win win.

Remember:
✨ Doing more doesn’t move the needle. 

✨ Doing what matters. 

What do you think? Does pulling your massive to-do list right down to your “BIG 3” every day feel possible or totally crazy? 

If you’d like support, consider booking a free 45-minute Dream Team Discovery Call with Paula. You can talk about your business goals and how you can rally your team to support you to achieve your big goals. 

Book a time HERE