Why killing your to-do list is the best thing you can do for your business

I know, the death of your to-do list is a radical idea, so bear with me while I explain. Think about it: a long to-do list is a giant energy drain and a waste of time. Have you ever noticed how the list keeps growing instead of shrinking?

Imagine waking up every morning feeling confident that you have enough time to accomplish the goals you have set for the day. Picture yourself wrapping things up at the end of the day, knowing that you haven't wasted your time or energy and that the actions you completed are supporting you in creating a profitable business.

The great news is that it is simple to kill your to-do list. Here’s how.

Prioritise your tasks

First, take a long, hard look at your massive to-do list and put a number one next to the actions that are high priority (I know, I hear you shouting they are all high priority, but trust me, they aren’t).

Go through the list again and rank the medium priority actions with a number two and the low priority actions with a number three.

Schedule your tasks

Now, get out your calendar and take each high-priority action and place it into your schedule. Choose a date by which it will be completed, as well as a realistic block of time for completion (so a start and finish time). Continue doing this with the medium-priority actions and finish with the low-priority actions.

This will work for you regardless of the type of calendar you use, so I won't be prescriptive here. Choose a system that works for you. The concept of integrating your actions into your planning is much more important than the type of calendar you use.

Be flexible

New opportunities do come up, and you can update and adjust your planning as needed. The difference is that now the things you have planned are already prioritised, so if something new comes up, you will be able to consider its importance in relation to existing priorities. This is much more effective than simply adding another action to the bottom of a list.

Keep space in your day

Make sure to schedule some free time each day for unplanned things that may arise. If you can’t find a place for some of the low-priority actions, don’t worry; benefit number three below will give you your solution.

Let me confess something: I know to-do lists don’t work because I am a former owner of a long to-do list (that never got done). Since I killed my to-do list and consciously thought about what I really want to get done, I am much more productive and feel confident about the direction of my business.

The benefits of killing your to-do list

1. Doing this forces you to reconsider what you are doing with your time, which allows you to be honest about what your true priorities are.
2. You will gain a realistic picture of what you can actually accomplish in a certain time period (each day, week, month and so on).
3. There will probably be some things that won’t fit into your schedule, and this gives you the opportunity to drop or delegate them. I like to call this your “to-don’t” list. If you are a solopreneur and don’t have employees who can pick up the slack, you can always outsource.
4. You will reduce overwhelm and stress because you will no longer be confronted daily with a giant list of things you know you won’t get done that day. This way you will get more accomplished, stay on track and remain focused.
5. You will feel great about the actions you plan to take each day because you know they are aligned with your long-term goals and that doing them will move you forward toward reaching them.

Regain control of your time

Anyone who is serious about building a sustainable and profitable business needs to be sure they are spending their time and energy on the right things. Are you beginning to see that it isn’t efficient to have a long to-do list that is neither prioritised nor has actions connected to due dates?

It can be scary to integrate your to-do list into your calendar, but I promise, it is worth it. What do you have to lose? Try it, and if it doesn’t work, you can always go back to the never-ending list of things that never get done.

Stop living in denial about what you can realistically get done and choose to plan and execute profitable actions that will grow your business.