Cut your To Do List in Half

Help! Do you have more on your to-do list this week than is humanly possible? Are you spinning around in circles, too overwhelmed to take action? You're having a to-do list emergency! 

 [download the workbook here]

It’s time to make some hard choices, some awkward or even embarrassing calls, and let go of our perfectionism and our egos to get done just what HAS to get done this week. I know it's not your normal way of working or up to your usual standard, but it's what you need to do this week to get through this crazy time. You got this!

It’s time for To-do list Triage

Triage is what they do in an emergency room when they have more patients than staff to help them. They ask a series of questions to get help where it is most needed. We're going to do the same thing here.

First,  brain dump your list.  Next, you’re going to ask the triage questions to slash this week's list down by half or more. 

What can I defer?

• So many items on our list are there just because we put them there. If it hasn't been promised to anyone else, it goes.
• Out of the items that have been promised to others, who can you call to defer? Who doesn't absolutely need it this week? With some warning, most people will be very understanding if something needs to get postponed.
• Is there a project you were supposed to start just because you promised a client weeks or months ago that you would start? Email them and let them know your schedule has changed and extend the start date.
• Meetings and presentations can be rescheduled for later.

What can I delegate?

• Drafter? Assistant? Virtual Assistant? Another colleague on the project? Now is the time to call in those favors.

What can be minimized?

• This is my favorite - many large tasks that are on your list don't have to be done in their entirety this week. Look over your list again and identify items for which you only need to do a small portion right now and the rest can get done later.
• Specs due? Call the contractor and find out which items are getting ordered this week. Chances are they don't need everything, just a very small portion. For instance, not all of the plumbing specs, just the shower valves.
• You have a client presentation. Normally you show plans, elevations, a 3D model and finishes. But the client doesn't know that. Just show a small portion, like the plan, and leave the rest for later.
• Along the same lines as above, you can turn a "presentation" into a "working session." This means instead of spending a lot of time labeling plans and creating a perfect presentation, you let the client know you'll be doing a "working session" and you walk them through the plans in more of a rough state, no labels required. They get to have more of an interactive experience and it can be fun for everyone. Use your judgment for when this is appropriate, but for a client where you already have trust established, it can be a way to keep the project moving forward even when you don't have time to pull out a polished presentation.

You got this!

As you can see, To Do List Triage is for emergencies only. Just like you don't go to the ER for your daily health care, you're not going to use the Triage questions for your daily workload. I know it's not the standard of work you abide by every day in your business, nor is it meant to be. Rather, it's a "done is better than perfect" temporary emergency measure to take when you're really in over your head.

I’ve created a free workbook - To Do List 911 to take you through the triage questions and help you create an actionable plan for your week with the work you have left.  It will cut your to-do list in half and help you get your work done. Download it here!  

When the dust has settled, head over to Designer Sanity and check out my Design Roadmap Course.  The Design Roadmap System is preventative medicine to make sure to-do list emergencies never happen again.  It’s a system to take charge of all your projects and plan them all out on your calendar with the time you have available.  With the Design Roadmap System, you’ll never have to land in the to-do list emergency room again.   Learn more about the Design Roadmap System here.