Has your 'to do' list stolen your focus?

Dealing with day to day pressures can be hard.

One way we can deal with this is to have a to do list. Write it down and do the thing that you wrote down.

It is a simple strategy to keep on top of your workload.

However, there comes a point where you can become a slave to your to do list.

It is a fact for most of us that we cannot fit all of our work into a normal working day / week. Some of us end up working longer hours as a result.

A phrase I heard years ago resonates with me here: you can do anything but you can't do everything.

So, the next question bubbles to the surface...

If you are busy responding to your to do list, what has happened to your key objectives? Where do they fit into the timeline of your day / week / month.

It can be too easy to lose track of the big things when you are spending your days fending off the little things. Little things sting when they don't get dealt with. So, we tend to focus on them.

But, what about the feeling of missing a major goal? More than a sting...

What can we do in this situation?

One option is to have a list of key objectives to hand. Every day (or week, at least) you can review this list and make sure that some of your week is dedicated to moving the needle on these items.

It doesn't have to be more complicated than this.

So, are you a slave to your to do list?

Giles

About the author:

Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes and embracing Kaizen.

Giles is also the author of Effective Root Cause Analysis and 'What Does Good Look Like?'.

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