How to Get Things Done: A Guide to Complete Your Task List
Use a few simple strategies to boost your productivity and get through your to dos
Look at your to do list and go through the first five tasks. How long have they been pending? Surely, one or two may have been urgent enough when they got added to do list. And perhaps you finally have a foolproof plan to finish them. So, what's stopped you from crossing them off?
There are many reasons for having a long list of unfinished tasks--maybe they are too difficult, overwhelming, or just too unpleasant to do. Or perhaps you're facing other challenges, such as a lack of motivation or an urge to give in to distractions, like your phone. But you know these tasks are important, so you still plan to get them done at some point, eventually. Guess what? That right time may never come, so you better roll up your sleeves and get to work now!
Not sure how to begin? Take some tips from our ultimate guide to getting things done!
Getting Things Done, the David Allen Way
When it comes to productivity, it's always helpful to know what the experts are saying. Few people have mastered the art of getting things done more than David Allen--he's even written a book on it!
Allen's philosophy is simple: Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. To be productive, you need to take your ideas and store them elsewhere so that your mind is free from feelings of stress and overwhelm and can focus on creating and working, rather than just thinking and overthinking.
This mindset is especially helpful if you tend to lose motivation and focus on new projects quickly, fixate on small issues, and have trouble with multi-tasking and organization.
Allen also sets out five simple strategies to channel your productivity and motivation to get to work:
- Capture: Any thought, idea, fear, or doubt you have needs to be captured immediately. It should be out of your mind and on a note without delay
- Clarify: All the things you capture should be processed into clear, actionable tasks
- Organize: Prioritize your steps and add deadlines, reminders, and reference material as required
- Review: Keep returning to your lists and notes to make sure you're following your plan, or revising it as needed
- Engage: Use your time to get important things done, not just think about them
So, keeping these simple but effective productivity strategies in mind, let's discuss a few ways to help you get things done:
How To Get Moving on Your Tasks
Make a New To Do List
Your current to-do list is probably too disorganized to fix. So why not make a fresh one that is more catered to your priorities and deadlines, and has your work and personal projects neatly divided? As always, urgent tasks should be at the top, but make sure you get other ones there too, with little notes that you should remember when you get to them.
Also, if you feel you need some help organizing your tasks, try a to do app with built-in features for prioritization and deadlines, like Todoist or Trello!
Break Tasks into Smaller Steps
Big projects with long deadlines can get daunting, so you may tend to keep pushing them to the last minute. So, try breaking these projects into small tasks with easily measurable steps using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, Time-bound) Goals. Here's how it may work:
Goal: To finish a marketing and social media campaign
SMART Goal: To finish a marketing campaign in one month by spending an hour each day creating a blog post, social media post, or video.
Want to create more SMART Goals? Try our cool tool, Crunch!
Create a Daily Routine
Routines help build consistency, and help you get more productive during your working hours each day. So, create a daily routine where you wake up nice and early, get in some fresh air and breakfast, and start your work for the day. Make sure to time box your tasks each day and have similar tasks planned together, like writing and editing, or answering calls and emails. With this system, you'll be able to create momentum and won't waste too much energy shifting gears from one task to another.
Eliminate Distractions
While at work, anything that can distract you or lead you to procrastinate should be kept away. This includes your phone, the TV, unproductive websites, your children, and your pets! If you can avoid wasting time during work hours, you can finish earlier and then get back to other activities for as long as you want.
Optimize your Work Environment
Having a separate workspace that lets you focus completely on your tasks will help you get more productive. Your work environment should have good natural light, space for all your devices and books, and perhaps a "Do Not Disturb" sign to keep away distractions!
Don't Try to Multi-task
Multi-tasking is the bane of productivity and focus. Trying to split your time and attention on more than one task at a time will only lead to half-baked progress. So, try to do only one thing at a time--if there are too many deadlines coming up, you can create multiple time blocks for deep work to get them done--for instance, spend three hours on the most urgent task, take a break, then do three hours on the next one. Don't try to squeeze it all together!
Take Breaks to Eat and Exercise
Even when you have too many things to do, don't punish yourself by foregoing food and exercise. A healthy, nourished body is more alert and productive than a tired and hungry one. Make sure you take the time to prepare and eat healthy meals and schedule a couple of breaks to walk, run, or do yoga in the fresh air and sunlight to reset.
Don't Neglect Your Well Being
Just like food, your body also needs rest, lots of water, and self care. Staying up at all hours of the night to work will zap your energy quickly, as will too much caffeine. Proper sleep, hydration, and good self-care will keep you focused and at peace so you can give your best during your working hours.
Find Ways to Stay Motivated
The more tasks you have, the harder it is to keep up your motivation. Set up some motivational triggers around you to keep you going. These could be posters or reminders of the rewards waiting for you--or the consequences of leaving your work undone. Anything that can push you forward!
Review your Progress
Schedule a weekly review to help you measure the progress you've made, and gauge whether any changes need to be made during the week ahead. Reviews will also work as motivational triggers, because they let you marvel on how far you've come on your journey.
Get Accountability
If you have trouble remembering your routines or staying motivated, some external accountability may help. Accountability works in many different ways, but for most people, just knowing someone's counting on them to finish their tasks can be enough. Consider asking a family member, friend, or colleague to check in on your progress now and then. Using a to do list app with reminders is another option.
Or, go one step further with accountability partner services or apps like Beeminder, Focusmate, or even Boss as a Service!
How BaaS Helps You Get Things Done
At Boss as a Service, our only goal is to help you get your tasks done. Our Bosses will check in with you every day to make sure you're not just planning but also working, keeping away from distractions, and taking care of yourself too! And, if you ever do feel overwhelmed or stuck at a point, we have lots of productivity tips and tricks to help you move forward! So try BaaS today!
Final Thoughts
Getting things done doesn't have to be difficult--all it takes is some clarity and strategic planning!