[IMGCAP(1)]You probably have hundreds of things that needed to be done yesterday. These items might be listed on your current to-do list, inside an e-mail in your inbox, or scrunched up in the back of your brain. Maybe it’s a combination of all three.
How can you streamline your to-do list so you can effectively prioritize what you need to do without spreading yourself too thin?
Get everything in one location
If you think your e-mail inbox is the one location, think again. Keeping action items in your inbox is the kiss of death because you’ll spend all day living in your inbox, reacting to things as they come in. You’ll never get anything done.
When going through e-mail, strive to maintain a zero inbox. File e-mail messages after you read them. Don’t leave them in your inbox, where you’re likely to reread the same e-mail multiple times.
If action is required, note that on your to-do list. Don’t have that set up yet? No problem.
Setting up your to-do list
You can set up your list electronically on your PC or mobile device, or if you want to go old school as I do, use a handy pen and notebook. Whatever works best for you is fine; just make sure you only have one master list. You don’t want an electronic and paper-based list, and you don’t want an electronic list on your mobile device and one on your PC unless the two lists are synced up. Pick the one that works best for you and go with it.
Structure your list strategically, then tactically
It’s important to start with the most strategically important items first. If you don’t give them a priority, they will get drowned out by fire drills. It’s easy to fight fires all day long, but this exercise can turn into weeks and months if you’re not careful.
The best way to make sure strategic items get the nod is to write them in while your list is empty. To do this, I like to hierarchically divide my to-do list into three categories:
● Monthly items
● Weekly items
● Daily items
Make your monthly to-do list strategic
At the beginning of each month, take some time to brainstorm a to-do list for the coming month that is very strategic. Think of things you can do that will have the greatest impact on your firm or company if you accomplish them over the next month. You want to come up with the real needle-moving activities.
Three or four very impactful items are plenty. That boils down to one a week. If you knock them off, you’ll be in a much stronger position this time next month.
Your weekly to-do list
At the start of each week before the Monday morning zaniness hits, I’ll review my monthly list and break it down into things I want to accomplish that week. A good way to do this is to take one item from your monthly list and break the item down into its component steps. These are now your weekly items.
Also on your weekly list will be bigger-picture items that are too large or complex for a single day – things you have to do. They might not be as strategic as the items on your monthly list, but they still have to get done. If you can’t delegate it, it will go on your weekly list.
Your daily to-do list
At the start of each day, you should quickly compile a daily to-do list. You’re probably getting the hang of this by now; your daily list will be a breakdown of a couple of items from your weekly list.
As always, start with your most strategic items, then include the tactical items you need to get done. Like the weekly list, I limit my daily list to six items. This allows for plenty of time for interruptions.
Bottom line
The key to effectively managing your to-do list is to give preference to strategic items that will truly move your company forward. Start with the big picture and work down from there.
If a tactical item can be delegated or ignored altogether, by all means do it. Keep your focus on the big picture and you’ll work more efficiently and effectively.
Brett Owens is chief executive and co-founder of Chrometa, a Sacramento, Calif.-based provider of time-tracking software that records activity in real time. Previously marketed to the legal community, Chrometa is branching out to accounting prospects. Gains include the ability to discover previously undocumented billable time, saving time on billing reconciliation and improving personal productivity. Brett can be reached at 916-254-0260 and
