Stop Doing It All!
The 21st century sure seems to have brought a lot of great
ideas, projects, and work for people to do. I say that because
I've seen quite an increase in the number of people who contact
me for help on how to juggle all these various activities.
So that everyone can benefit, I'm going to tell you like I tell
all those people who call & write: You can get out of this
"doing everything" trap and get a lot more done in the process.
Here's how:
1. YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING ANYWAY
Face it: If you could do everything, none of the rest of us
would have to worry about anything, would we? Truth is that
there's always much more to be done than there is time to do it.
When you realize that you're not going to get it all done by
yourself it gets a whole lot easier to do what work you do have
to do.
2. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LOT TO DO DOESN'T MEAN IT ALL NEEDS
DOING
Closely examine the stuff on your "to do" or projects list. Some
of it just doesn't need doing. Not now at any rate. And in some
cases, not ever.
Don't believe me? Put it at the bottom of the list and leave it
there for a while. You'll see.
3. SAY "NO" MORE THAN YOU SAY "YES"
I don't know why, but it seems like the people who are most
willing to volunteer for a new project or additional work are
the ones who just DON'T have the time available to do it.
Get in the habit of saying "no" to requests for your time more
than you say "yes" and soon you'll have a lot more time to give.
If you can't say "no" then get as much time to work on the
project as you possibly can (and give yourself plenty of time to
get it done).
4. HAVE ALL THE IDEAS YOU WANT... BUT WORK ON ONE IDEA AT A TIME
Many people tell me that they have "too many" ideas: they can't
get anything done because they keep getting new ideas to work
on.
The problem isn't the number of ideas, it's that they're trying
to work on all of them at the same time. (See #2.)
You just can't do that, not if you want to get anything done.
So, keep coming up with great ideas, but write them down and
save them for later while you work on one idea/project at a
time.
5. YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL, BUT WE JUST MIGHT
Whether it's work or a just a fun project, you improve your
chances of success when you share some of the workload with
others.
So the next time you find yourself trying to do it all, remember
these few ideas and do a little less... You may just find that
you actually get a lot more done in the process!