One thing I constantly worry about is being productive, and I reckon a lot of people running their own businesses feel the same. Being busy and being productive are totally different things and although I can easily spend 10 hours working in front of my computer all day – I can actually end up producing nothing. Emails, browsing the web, instant messaging, more emails, customer support, opening letters and filing – all these things can make you feel like you’re being extremely busy at the time but at the end of the day you’ve probably moved no closer to your goals as an individual or company.
I’ve read tons of self help and productivity books. I do need help 
, but I also generally enjoy reading them as they are quite uplifting and motivating. Most books cover motivation and productivity at some point, and they all have their own productivity system name and method – may be so they can sell you extras such as productivity notepads and apps for your iPhone! I don’t think there is one system that fits all. People think and work in different ways, so finding something that works for you is important – but don’t then try to impress it on your organisation or others. Let each person find something that works for them.
Today I’m going to write about daily tasks and what you want to get done. With each task or action you set you should be considering what current goals you are working towards. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to define your goals/mission/legacy – I’ll post some thoughts on that soon.
For daily tasks I use the ‘Most Important Tasks’ method. I’d say this has come from many sources, but the two I can remember most recently mentioning it are ZenHabits.net and the book Eat That Frog (highly recommended). Here are a few things I consider each day when putting together my Most Important Tasks.
Each task needs to be achievable that day
I love crossing things out when they’ve been done – something very satisfying about that. Each Most Important Task must be achievable in a day. If it will take longer than a day, break it down into sub tasks and choose one of those sub tasks as your MIT. Having a task listed that is not achievable in a day will often give you the mindset of “well it can’t be finished today so I won’t bother starting it”.
Plan Most Important Tasks the night before
You need to hit the ground running as soon as you sit at your desk and are ready to start work. Planning your Most Important Tasks first thing in the morning is actually a distraction and an obstacle to you getting going – so make sure you plan your MITs the day before, either just before you finish working or just before bed.
Pick one
Start with just a single Most Important Task. If you got nothing done the next day apart from this single task you would consider it a productive day. Make sure this single task moves you in the right direction in terms of your goals.
Then pick another two – Never more than 3
It may well be that the single task is enough for a whole day. But if you feel you can get it done and have time to spare, pick another couple of important tasks that move you towards your weekly, monthly or lifetime goal. 3 Most Important Tasks is the limit I set on myself though. Anymore than 3 and it will seem like a normal todo list or you will have too many MIT’s to choose to do, so you’ll end up doing none of them. Remember these are the tasks that are important to you achieving your goals so you do not want to get them mixed up with ‘buy cat food’ etc…
Work on MIT #1 until it’s done
Main tip picked up from ‘Eat That Frog’. Work on Most Important Task #1 until it is completed. This should be the most important thing you need to get done each day and so should take absolute priority. This may mean you need to block out time in your calendar each morning to stop others from arranging meetings for you early each day. Whatever it takes – do it.
Remember life is not about being busy (answering emails, attending meetings, browsing the web, etc), it’s about making progress towards your goals. Finish MIT #1 and you will be closer to your goal.
Remove distractions
When working on a task, remove yourself from distractions. Other things will pop up that’ll make you feel like you are being busy again – but will stop you being productive and working towards completing your MIT’s. Here are a few tips:
- move to somewhere quiet
- disconnect from the Internet
- close email
- sign out from instant messaging applications
- turn your mobile off
The good news is if you disconnect from the Internet you kill 3 of those things above!
What are your productivity tips – and how do you make sure you get things done?