You start each week with great intentions. You are determined to get a grip of your workload. You are determined to write a to do list, you even promise yourself that you will stick to it and use it and reprioritise each day so that you finish what you want to every day.

But yet again by Wednesday afternoon life, stuff and your habits have made your Monday morning intentions seem a distant memory and you are back in fire fighting mode with a longer to do list and feeling even more overwhelmed by what you have to do.

Well have you ever stopped to think that it is your to do list that is the problem?

* Perhaps you are not a to do list person?
* Perhaps your to do list has the wrong things on it
* Perhaps your to do list is causing your fire fighting reactions?

Could there be another way to manage your workload? Could there be a better way for you to prioritise? Could there be a better habit for you to adopt?

What if you made one simple mind shift? What if you focused on “to achieve” instead of “to do”?

This mind shift requires that you look at results, goals and achievements rather than individual activities and tasks. To do lists focus on “NOW” and tend to allow reactive decisions. To achieve planning focuses on “RESULTS” and encourages proactive thinking.

You may have a to do list that has items which you consider urgent and you may have items on there that you consider important. It is that distinction that is critical when prioritising what you actually do on a day to day basis.

Is it more important that you react to all your emails as soon as they arrive or is it more important that you keep your regular progress meetings with your team members? Is it more important that you take focused time to plan your sales strategy for the next quarter or is it more important that you react to every phone call?

Only you can determine what is REALLY important and what is important and urgent. This is the way to decide what you need to focus on each day and this is the way to decide “in the heat of the moment” whether you need to stop what you are doing to focus on something else.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

©2005 Beverley Hamilton

About The Author
Beverley Hamilton is the author of Take Control of Your Time: 7 Straight Shooter Strategies for Success. To learn more, subscribe to Quickstart her free ezine and get more tips, tools and articles visit at One Step Further

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