We all have the same 24 hours in a day but how come some days it feels like you’re checking things off your to-do list left and right, while other days you wonder where the day went and what you actually accomplished. It’s all in the prep-work. By being more intentional with your time you can better prioritize what needs to get done so that you accomplish more.
1. Brain Dump
First you need to write out all the things floating around your brain that need to get done. Grab a piece of paper and write them out. Take as much time as you need and add things later as you think of them. Next you’re going to work through your list and prioritize it.
2. Cut Out the Unnecessary
“When you cannot do what you have always done, then you only do what matters most.” — Robert Hales
If you had to pick, what items on your list are the top priority? Those things that HAVE to get done. What things will make the most difference or are non-negotiables? Mark those items and put everything else on a “someday, maybe” list.
3. You Are What You Repeatedly Do
“We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day” – Richard Scott
Another way to think through purging your list is to focus on what kind of person you strive to be. Do you want to be more productive? Or more relaxed? Maybe you want to be more present. It’s up to you.
Then go through your list and ask yourself, “What would a _ person do?” Whatever it is you want to be. By acting like what you want to be, you’re actively turning into your desire.
4. Good, Better, Best
Dallin Oaks related this story, “A childhood experience introduced me to the idea that some choices are good but others are better. I lived for two years on a farm. We rarely went to town. Our Christmas shopping was done in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. I spent hours poring over its pages. For the rural families of that day, catalog pages were like the shopping mall or the Internet of our time.
“A childhood experience introduced me to the idea that some choices are good but others are better. I lived for two years on a farm. We rarely went to town. Our Christmas shopping was done in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. I spent hours poring over its pages. For the rural families of that day, catalog pages were like the shopping mall or the Internet of our time.
Something about some displays of merchandise in the catalog fixed itself in my mind. There were three degrees of quality: good, better, and best. For example, some men’s shoes were labeled good ($1.84), some better ($2.98), and some best ($3.45).
As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best.”
He later says, “We should be careful not to exhaust our available time on things that are merely good and leave little time for that which is better or best.”
Go through your list and label each item as good, better or best. It might be easier to do one category at a time. Mark all the best things, then the better things and then the good things.
5. The Next Best Thing
What’s your next best thing? -Kim Anderson
Your list should now be purged and each remaining item labeled good, better or best. Now among those “best” things, which thing needs to get done first? Kim Anderson calls this your next best thing. Mark that item number one. Then decide which item would be your next best thing once you complete the first task. Do this with your remaining “best” things until they’re all prioritized.
You now have a list of all the things you need to get done, in order of importance. Go get it!
When you take the time to start your day with intention and don’t just dive right in, you can make sure that the truly important things are getting done. You’ll know what really has to get done today and what can be put off for another time or deleted off your list forever.