Your To Do List | Breaking it Down Into Categories | Have To Do | Need To Do | Want To Do
I’ve never talked about it this early before but I’m feeling like I need to address it now. It’s August, the beginning of the end of the calendar year. From now until the end of the year your day can become completely filled with activities that require your extra time and energy. There is the beginning of the school year, getting yourself and your family on a new schedule, the fall sports have started, home-comings and Football. Halloween and then the preparation and travel for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Happy New Year 2013! Your To Do List is growing and growing. And…you really meant to get yourself organized this year, right! Because this year was going to be different!
What have you checked off of your To Do List this year? What huge goals did you achieve? What are you celebrating? Maybe your list included organizing your files and paperwork. Or, it could be something as simple as cleaning out that closet. The picture is my big Have to Do this month. We had to finish remodeling our granddaughter’s bedroom. I was not willing to continue putting it off. This project definitely took good schedule management and time management for everyone involved. While we didn’t reach our ultimate goal of completing it in one month – we did reach our goal and she Loves her new room!
The best way to ensure that you celebration your accomplishments for 2012 is to take a look at your goals now! What do you want to accomplishment during the rest of this year? How can you make changes to ensure that it happens? Hold a Brain Dump and “Get Around To Getting Organized”.
Brain Dump 101! Get our your big white board – or something similar – and break everything down into three categories. They are: Things that you: Have To Do – Need To Do – Want To Do.
Take the Things that you Have To Do and get them onto your calendar immediately. Don’t let them continue to be put off any longer. Imagine what it is going to feel like when you can say…DONE! This would be things that have a financial penalty if they are not completed in time. (Not finding time to save money costs so much more in the end!) Or scheduling an appointment that could affect your health. Don’t wait until it becomes a real emergency before you decide to pick up the phone. Schedule small chunks of time and set timelines and specific goals each week to make sure that they are 100% marked off of your list and you have a follow-up date to ensure that it is completed. This is the key to ensuring that it gets done. Nothing happens until something happens!
Next, take a look at the things that you Need To Do. These are things that will have a negative impact on your business and life if they are not accomplished sooner rather than later…but they are not necessarily urgent. Things on this list may be to update your contact list and organize your files. Maybe your yard needs attention. By identifying your priorities you will be able to schedule your yard work (of course, we all know that this can be dictated by the weather). But without having it on your Need To Do list, it won’t happen!
Lastly, look at the things that you really Want To Do! Maybe you Want to go to a spa for the afternoon. Imagine how much more you will be able to enjoy the spa without the stress and anxiety of what you have left undone. Free up your mind to allow you to enjoy yourself while someone else pampers you! Or, maybe you just want some down time to read, relax and take in a good movie! Marking off your Have To Do and Need To Do allows you to enjoy your Want To Do.
Linda Clevenger Organization Direct
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