This morning my daughter said, “Mommy, I hate Mondays.” She was nestled in her bed under 4 snuggly blankets. I really think she meant to say was that she didn’t want to get out of bed. I know that sometimes on Mondays it can feel so overwhelming because we leave the chaotic and fun weekend for the piles of work that we left for ourselves last week. I am so motivated today because I have absolutely nothing on my calendar! I have several huge deadlines that I need to crank out and I am super excited to be alone with my brain all day! Every time I have a day in the quiet by myself (which isn’t often enough), I tell myself that I need to schedule these types of days more often. Do you have a time when you can look at your workflow and get everything scheduled? Do you have a quiet place where you can get organized and prioritize your day? I know so many times we simply go through our days being reactive instead of having a plan. If you take time RIGHT NOW, Monday morning, to chunk out your week, everything will get done. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Put in the big stuff first. For example, if you have 2 hours of editing to do, make sure you set aside 2 hours to get it done. Schedule those big chunks of time for the entire week today so that they get done.
2. Try to group similar tasks together. Your brain needs time to switch gears when you go from a creative task to a production task to a customer oriented task. If you sit down and do all of the creative tasks at once, then you only have to shift gears once to get in a great place to chat with customers.
3. Don’t stop one task until it is completely done. Don’t let anything get in your way until you have that one task done and off your list. Then move to the next and so on.
4. Empty your email box at the end of each day. Either delete things, delegate them or write them on your to-do list. By doing this, you will wake up tomorrow with a clean plate and be able to focus on your first and most important project.
5. Revisit your list at the end of each day. If you reorganize your list each day at the end of the day, you can hit the ground running the next day. Instead of rising tomorrow and hopping in your in-box, knock out the very most important thing on your list so your day starts with momentum.
What else are you doing to help yourself get it all done???