Tackle Tasks
My top tips to help you tackle tasks with vigor.
Dear <<First Name>>,
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It's been a long time since I've been on my home ground of Personal Productivity. But today's LiveStream, 'Make More: Project Management Side Hustles, Influencing, and Promotions' gave me the idea.
If you're going to take on a side hustle, you'll need to be productive, effective, and efficient. So here are my top tips to help you tackle tasks with vigor.
Love Lists
Everyone loves a To Do list. But make them work for you. Use paper or find an app you like (try several). Frequently prune your list by deleting To Don't items and prioritising the rest.
Brutal Honesty
Does this really need to get done? What does it contribute? How much value does it really deliver? Everything you delete from your list is a gift of time to the things that matter more.
Define Done
Know how to assess completion and quality. Know when to stop. And now If you're the sort of person who is never satisfied, this will save you loads of time. And, if you're the sort of person who rushes things and then needs to re-do some of them, this will save you loads of time.
Schedule Tomorrow
Before you stop work today, know what you are going to do tomorrow - and when. That way you start tomorrow with all your energy and none of the wasteful decision-fatigue from figuring out what to do first. Yes, you'll sometimes need to make changes. But, having decided what's important already, you'll know which intrusions are important enough.
Cluster Crap
Save all the frustrating but necessary little admin things for one block of tie per week. Fridays are often good. Then, use that time to clear the clutter. This gives you the rest of the week to...
Focus Fully
One task at a time for a good chunk of time. Mono-tasking works. Multi-tasking fails. It really is that simple.
Slice Elephants
For really big tasks, where you don't have big enough time blocks to finish, or you feel overwhelmed, cut them into bite-sized chunks. You will get a far greater sense of progress, and so more satisfaction and less frustration from unfinished tasks hanging over you.
Optimise Organisation
Set up your workspace to make work efficient. Tidy up. Bring the things you use most close to you, and organize your filing. Create simple systems and optimise them every time you spot an inefficiency.
Regular Reminders
Use follow-up lists, alerts, and reminders to outsource your memory and ensure you don't forget things.
Celebrate Success
And a regular theme for these newsletters... Celebrate completion of all but the smallest tasks.
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