One Simple Thing Can Completely Change Your Business!

[JP Wilson]

As human beings, our minds are incredibly complex. Without even knowing it, we subconsciously compartmentalize the things in our lives in order to make them manageable and easy to deal with. According to an article in the NY Times, the average person has between 2-3,000 thoughts per day. The only way for us to manage all of that random information is by giving ourselves blatant psychological clues and reminders of what's important and worth our attention.

So, enough back history. What's the program I alluded to in the title of this thread?

Microsoft Notepad... I know. Sounds disappointingly simple, but here’s why it's so important: Unless we have a set guide for exactly what we need to be focussed on, our minds will naturally wander. We will think, "I've got to do this today", or "I really need to email this person", or "fix this aspect of my site", but before we know it, we get so distracted that we only accomplish a small fraction of what we initially intended to get done.

To combat this problem, every night, before I go to sleep, I open a new document and make a list entitled "To Do" (followed by the date). I will list out at least 5-10 tasks that I will not end the next day before completing, as well as another 5-10 things that I would like to get done as long as the first set of tasks have been fulfilled. I know it sounds rudimentary and perhaps even a bit stupid, but trust me; it makes all the difference in the world. I wake up every morning with a pre-arranged, well-thought-out guide of exactly what I need to get done for the day. And guess what? Everything always gets completed.

This was first recommended to me by MLM expert Mike Dillard. I thought it was ridiculous, tried it out anyway, and haven't looked back since.

My reccomendation to you is simply give this a shot for a week and compare your efficiency to what it was like the week before. I think you'll be quite surprised by how many things your actually able to get done and how much extra you're able to give to your business.

Want a more streamline solution? This free 'To Do List' software is absolutely EXCELLENT. Check out the following (non-aff) link.

Free To Do List Software - Swift To-Do List Lite by Dextronet

Cheers

[TMG Enterprises]

This absolutely works. I make a to do list weekly and then daily. I use the old fashioned method of paper and pen, though. I use a regular steno pad so I can have my list on one site and have the other side for notes, etc. throughout the day.

Tina G

[JP Wilson]

Thanks TMG. Certainly nothing wrong with the old pen and pad!

[Kalidasa]

At night before bed is a great time to do this. It gives you a chance to go over the day's activities and there's something about it that helps spur ideas.

Also, it gives you a chance to check in and see if you did everything you wanted to do that day. Or, did you goof off more than you were going to allow.

[yosis]

Great tip! I also use notepad all the time and fire it up when I start my day. If you use sites like netvibes or igoogle you can create your to do list there and have it set as your home page so you'll be faced with what you need to do each working day. Also, you can cross each off as you complete them with a mouse click.

[igorhelpsyousucceed]

Hey JP,
True.

You're tottaly right about writing down our
thoughts and things to do. I tend to use a regular
notepad, not the microsoft one, but pretty much
I do the same.

~Igor

[chemmyvick]

U RE RIGHT MAN!

[JP Wilson]

Thanks for your responses guys. It's so interesting how one simple thing can completely change the entire dynamic of a business.

[T2VSonya]

I do this with my Palm. I use the Memos section for big projects and I add Tasks constantly as I come up with things. I can categorize them by site, business, home, personal, etc. Then I set up due dates for those items that are time sensitive.

It has been working great and my productivity seems to be increasing. I presume you can do the same thing with Outlook and/or a smart phone. I'm just slow to upgrade and I love my palm too much to switch to something new.

[Matt Barrington]

I received this advice from a friend once a long time ago. Sadly, I've gotten out of the habit, but after reading this, I think I'll start it up again. Thanks for the tip!