Hi, I’m Kristin and I can be EFFICIENT TO A FAULT. I want to bust through my to-do list because if not, I can drown in panic over the 5 page long list of tasks that need done. So, I’m going to cut to the chase….here are some tips on how to get more tasks done:
EAT THAT FROG!
Everyone has stuff they don’t like doing, right? Unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry and meal prep are among the few necessary tasks I dislike greatly. And to make matters worse, I’m a procrastinator, so when I have something I don’t want to do, I like to play this super fun game of “let’s see just how long I can go before I absolutely have to do this”….just me?? The premise behind the book, EAT THE FROG, is getting the task you dislike the most done first, because then….the rest of the day is cake. Okay, not really, but that one task you are ruminating over gets done and you end up wasting less energy worrying about having to complete the dreaded task.
PLAN YOUR DAY AND WEEK
Try planning what your top 3 priorities are each day so you know what your focus is that day. I actually block schedule my day because it is helpful to know when I can get certain things completed. Another helpful tip: plan meals once a week and even plan what cleaning you will do each day of the week. Planning your week can help you figure out when everything can get done (or most of it, anyway!). My Stress-Reduction Planner helps you do all of this planning, plus more!! I try to forecast some stressors and issues that may pop up so I can already plan to work around those or honestly, do some journaling to just accept that those things may come up. Which leads me to…
JOURNAL
It sounds crazy – but the less crowded my brain is, the better I think and more productive I am. Also, I mentioned really working through the potential stressors. I can plan for somethings, but there are always going to be things that come up that I can’t anticipate and may impact the day or week. I choose my top tasks and I just make sure I can focus on those all week and then journal about my thoughts/feelings about what didn’t go according to plan….it’s a great way to talk myself down.
FINISH THE TASK
I don’t know about you, but I was beat when I came home from work. I used every ounce of brain power, patience and professionalism while I was there (I typically ran out of all of these by 2pm…good luck to anyone who had meeting with me after that) so I wanted to melt into the couch when I got home. I never put my clothes in the hamper or put my dishes in the dishwasher; I literally could not bear to do the last 5% of the task. I honestly believed it would kill me dead right there and then. Turns out, that when I had a day off (which wasn’t often), I spent it completing the last 5% of every single task and I was furious. I had BIG plans to sit in front of the TV and binge eat pizza all day and that was ruined by my inability to complete a task. So I started completing tasks all the way. Brace yourself for this news: IT DIDN’T KILL ME! It actually kept things clean and I didn’t have nearly as much to do on my days off. My point? Finish each task. You aren’t EVER going to WANT to do it – but do it anyway to save yourself the stress of having to do it later.
PAIR FUN TASKS WITH TASKS YOU DETEST
I hate doing certain tasks: meal prep, folding laundry and the dishes, to name a few! (I literally cannot put into words my disdain for dishes….😫) But I realized a lot of my procrastination was because my brain was all caught up in my distaste for the task, which wasn’t helping anyone. So, I added something I looked forward to…a netflix show, podcast, talking to a friend (if you haven’t tried the app: Marco Polo – download it!)…and I paired it with these despised tasks and guess what? I got them done and I was able to enjoy it a little more because I was doing something I liked while doing it. And, the best part – I felt super productive because I crossed 2 two things off my to-do list!
I’m not a magician, so I can’t create more time in the day for you (but wouldn’t that be awesome?!?!?) but I hope these tips can help you be a little more productive and reduce a little stress in your life.
Lastly, I have a FREE guide for you to help reduce your stress in 5 minutes a day. I figured I would save you a little time each time so now you can do something for you during that time. Yeah, it was a little sneaky, but you deserve a few minutes of each day for you, and you probably wouldn’t take it unless I was a little sneaky 😉
