Life is busy. I am sure no one will disagree with this. In this busy life you have to have system in place for identifying which actions to do first. Then once you have mastered the process, you should teach the teams you lead how to do these things as well.
Being a do it first leader means you have done it first. You can not ask others to do things you haven’t done – or you should not.
Let’s look at this as a duplicatable process so that it can easily be taught to your leaders.
First things first. You can do this with a to do list or a prospect list you need to call. The system is the same even if the data changes.
- Identify all that has to be done.
- My preferred method of doing this is to write it all down and then prioritize it manually through using a letter or number system based on the things that have to get done today, this week and next week or later.
- Make it digital.
- My next step in the process is making it digital so I can clearly see it on the computer and I can rid my office of paper.
- Generally I put my action lists in MS Excel so that I can search by date, task and specific words if needed.
- I am a believer of having everything in it’s own place. When I save the file on my computer, I generally have one master to do list and it is on my desktop for easy clicking and getting to the most important task at hand.
- Reprioritize as needed.
- Life happens and things come up, so be willing and able to adjust.
- When you keep a to do list in this manner, you can easily see who you need to email vs. call if you weren’t able to make all your phone calls or get to all your tasks.
- Be gentle with yourself when an entire to do list isn’t done. The fact is you are human and a to do list is meant to have an ongoing list of things on it.
- Stick to the system.
- I see more people trying to figure out their system than anything.
- Don’t just be busy for the sake of being busy.
- Commit to doing this process for months before you decide it doesn’t work.
- A good hint is to hide the items that are next week or later. That way your brain can digest getting all that is on the list done and next week, you’ll have a new list to unhide and do.
As with anything, you need to take large goals and chunk them down into daily bite sized pieces to get them done. There is a great book I highly recommend written by Jeff Olson called the Slight Edge. This book discusses the importance of doing daily bite size pieces consistently vs. trying to jam your goal all into a day or two. You’ll be far more productive, relaxed and able to enjoy your time off if you chunk life down into bite sized pieces.
This philosophy can be applied to a traditional business, your direct sales or network marketing (MLM) business, organizing your house, reading a book, ridding weight, etc.
Now that you have mastered it, share it with the people on your teams and family and friends in your life. When everyone is productive and feels good about where they are at, well everyone is just better off.
Did this blog help you? If so, it would mean a lot to me if you would share it with others!!! And, share your comments below!
Much Success!
Have an outstanding day!!
Sara