All Good Intentions
As disciplined as we may think we are in getting our tasks completed I’m sure we are all guilty of going off piste!
You set your tasks list for the day but somehow you are distracted. Your whole set of good intentions go out the window!
Recently, even as a virtual assistant, I realise I need to be more focused at staying on track and getting the important tasks finished – the things that are going to move my business forward instead of chipping away at lots of little things and not getting anything finished.
It’s The Pesky Little Tasks
It’s the pesky little tasks that get in the way and eat up your entire day if you let them.
A quick task turns into a pile of wasted time!! Without having discipline just a couple of these pesky tasks can zap up hours of your day and before you realise it you’ve got nothing done!!!
So the other day I was looking for a form I had filed away, something I thought would help out a friend. All I had to do was find it and email it to her and job done!! No that didn’t happen did it?! I got distracted!
I ended up looking at other documents I’d got filed and starting to research on how I could improve them. Before I knew it and couple of hours later I was well behind on my task list for the day. I’m also guilty of “I’ll just read this email quickly before I start” and then 50 messages later……………………
You get the gist of it and I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. You’ve one website you need to check and again before you know it you’re surfing the web and another hour has passed.
That just one thing you are going to do takes you away from what you are working on and your day is disappearing before your eyes!!!! “Little tasks aren’t always so little… and small distractions can disrupt your entire day.”
So, what do you need to do to stop these small distractions from taking up all your time?
5 Top Tips To Keep You On Track
Here are 5 Tips to Prevent The Small Tasks from Upsetting Your Daily Plans:
1. Make Sure You Do The Important Stuff First – prioritising your work is key to getting things done.
2. Only Do One Task At A Time – stick with your task until it’s finished otherwise you’ll end up with lots of things started but nothing actually gets done!
3. Stick to Your Task List – following your ‘to do’ list keeps you on track and ensures you carry out the tasks you intended to do without going off piste
4. Clear Your Work Area – working in a clean area helps keep your mind free from thinking about other things and distracting you. Think ‘out of sight out of mind’.
5. Remove Distractions – turn off all notifications on your phone and your laptop. Close your email down. Put your phone in a drawer so you aren’t tempted to check it!!
All the small tasks do need doing but they’ll still be on your list when you’ve tackled and finished that big task. Following the above tips will help you get the important stuff done!
Something else you could do is make sure that you’ve got 3 things on your weekly list that will move your business forward. Think about what will affect your bottom line. Stick to the big tasks you need to get done. The little tasks will still be waiting when you are finished.
So what do you do to prevent you going off piste? To stop all the small things disrupting your day?
If you still struggle to get the important stuff done get in touch and let me take away those everyday ‘got to do’ tasks.
Email: jules@purplevioletva.com
Purple Violet – “giving you time to focus on the important stuff”