It's common for people to feel as if they do not have enough time in the day to get things done. Typically, you do your morning stuff, get ready for work, be at work for 6-8 hours, come home and rest, eat dinner, maybe workout and get 1-2 things done, then it's time for bed. There's also the possibility that you're so pooped from work that you don't have the energy to do anything productive at all.
In this article I use the following terms to define the three types of to-do items a person typically has on their daily to-do list.
Big Tasks = any tasks that will move you one step closer towards your biggest dreams (ex: brainstorming a plan, making sales calls, writing 1-2 chapters for a book)
Small Tasks = tasks that need to get done, but have nothing to do with your bigger goals; these are typically your maintenance items or non-career items (ex: buying groceries, sorting through the mail, shipping a package out to your friend in New York)
Time-Wasters/Entertainment = playing video games, watching Netflix, surfing YouTube, or scrolling through social media.
If you've ever read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, then you'll understand that people typically do not make time for the big projects they have in life. Instead, they unknowingly bog themselves down with the small tasks and the time-wasters.
In order for you to get ahead, you'll have to create the habit of doing the big stuff first, the small stuff second, and the time-waster last (if ever).
There are two solutions, of many, that have helped me get more things done. I'll share those with you next.
1) set mini-deadlines throughout the day for when your big task items will be complete by
Some people don't like the idea of deadlines. The reality is that without a deadline, you risk taking way longer to complete something that isn't that difficult to do. You risk never completing it at all actually.
The deadline you set will determine the speed and efficiency you must move in order to meet it.
Think of every time you've procrastinated completing a project or homework assignment in school:
The teacher assigns the project four months in advance. Initially, you daydream of how easy this is going to be if you just do a little bit every day. Then, three months and 3 weeks later, you're SCRAMBLING to get it all done within a week; a number of people will get it all done in less than 24 hours.
It is a skill to put deadlines on yourself and meet them, without the fear of getting an F like back in school.
You'd be surprised how efficient and productive you can be when your intent is clear and you have a set deadline to complete tasks by.
2) do the big things first, the small stuff second, and eliminate complete time-wasters as much as possible.
As we defined at the beginning, "Big Tasks" are any tasks that will move you one step closer towards your biggest dreams.
For example: If you are someone who wants to write their own best selling book, you best believe that writing a page or two a day is a top three item on your to-do list.
Once you get that done, you can then be free to move on to the smaller stuff.
As a reminder, "Small Tasks" are tasks that need to get done, but have nothing to do with your bigger goals; these are typically your maintenance items or non-career items
For example: Getting groceries, sorting through the mail, or shipping out the package for your Grandma's 85th birthday.
As you can see, although doing these things are important, it's easy to bog oneself down with 10 smaller tasks before ever getting, if ever, to the big tasks.
Moving forward, when the big and small tasks are pretty much done, if not completely done, allow yourself to indulge in time-wasters/entertainment items. These are your self-indulgent, mindless, even stress-relief items. They are important to give ourselves, but not as important as the big moves.
Remember, when you have big dreams with big moves to make, every hour counts. If you allocate too much time to time-wasters, then you risk never moving forward in the direction of your dreams.
BONUS: DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
Look, the reality is that you can easily do the time-wasters first, the small tasks second, another time-waster again, and then the big task last. There is no such thing as the right way to do things. However, in my experience, the longer I take to do the big stuff, the more tired I am throughout the day, and the more resistance I have towards doing the big stuff.
Then, before I know it, the big task gets pushed to tomorrow, and then tomorrow I push it off again.
Like I said, for whatever reason, we are not necessarily wired to do the big stuff.
All in all, do what works for you! Find your zone, your flow. Just remember, every hour counts, and if you do not create the life you truly want before you die...well...it's not cause you didn't have enough time!
