Get your to-do list DONE this week!

Last week in the blog I taught you how to slash your overwhelming to-do list in half with the Triage questions from the To Do List 911 workbook.  If you missed that blog - you can find it here!

[download the workbook here]

Now that you’ve separated out your to-do list into buckets, added time estimates and slashed your to-do list down into a more manageable size with the Triage questions,  it’s time to make it into an actionable plan.  

I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing more paralyzing to me than an amorphous to-do list.  When I see that list, I feel like it all needs to be done NOW - and then I just shut down.  The Weekly Action Planner solves this problem by creating an actionable plan so you can stop spinning and get into doing.  

I’m going to walk you through filling out the Weekly Action Planner from the To Do List 911 so you make your weekly action plan. 

[download the workbook here]

Step 1 -  Determine your Capacity

We’re going to turn things around from what you probably normally do, and start with your capacity - how many hours do you have to work this week?  Instead of adding up our to-do’s and then cramming them into our week, we’re going to start with how much time we have available, and make your to-do’s fit into that.  Sanity first!  

Take a look at your regular calendar and take note of any appointments, etc. that might affect how many hours you have to work this week and adjust your capacity accordingly.  

Step 2 - To do List

Fill out the to do list along with your time estimates, and total it all up to be sure you haven't exceeded your capacity. If it does, go back to your triage questions to whittle your list down even more.  Be ruthless!   Don’t forget to include appointments, meetings and drive time.

Step 3. Fill in the weekly plan

Every item on your to-do list gets copied onto a day of the week. Readjust as needed to be sure you're not overloading yourself on any day.  Ideally, you’ll be time-blocking your to-do’s by “bucket” and just focusing on one or two projects a day, completing them and then moving on to the next project.  

Look at your regular calendar as well and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything  - if you have, add it to your list and your plan now.  

If you need to go back to your regular calendar (google, etc) and add in any appointments, etc., do that now.  

Tips:

• Front load your week, starting with the highest priority items that MUST get done first.  
• Group your tasks by project, and aim to just work on 1-2 projects a day to maintain your focus.  
• Plan some margin into each day for unexpected items that take longer to complete than you thought.  Don’t fill every minute of every day or you’re setting yourself up for failure.  Leave at least 5 hours a week open for unexpected events; you’ll thank yourself later.
• Keep track of what actually happened - how long things actually took, or unexpected items that came up so you can plan your time more accurately in the future.  Did you notice that you consistently underestimated how long things would take you?  Next week, bump all your times up by 20%-30% to cover this.  Did you spend 10 hours working on unexpected things?  Perhaps this is a good amount of margin to add to your schedule on a weekly basis.  

Step 4. Celebrate your wins

It’s so important to acknowledge and celebrate all that we’re getting done.  As you complete items, write them on your "ta da" list. 

At the end of the week, review your ta-da list and celebrate your wins! You accomplished so much and you should feel so proud of yourself!

So there you have it - your overwhelming task list has now been chunked down into an actionable weekly plan, and you know exactly what you need to do each day to get that work done.  You’ve balanced the time estimates for all your tasks with the time you have available so you know you can get your work done.  

Don’t forget to download the 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!  

The To Do List 911 Triage questions and weekly planner are tools you can pull out any time you’re overwhelmed and you need help getting your to-do list under control.  

When you’re ready for a more robust system that will prevent your  to-do list from getting out of control in the future, you’re going to want to check out my Design Roadmap System.  I got tired of constantly feeling behind the eight ball with my projects, and I knew there had to be a better way to plan out my projects and my calendar from the top-down so things would STAY in control, forever and always.  

I couldn’t find anything, so I created my own system.  

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.