Help! I can’t get it all done!
Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
During July, I am going to answer some questions from readers about specific problems they are having with their productivity systems.
Help! I can’t get it all done!
Let’s set a baseline here: No one dies with an empty inbox.
You won’t ever get it all done, because work will expand to fill empty space (see Parkinson’s Law) and more work will come in.
That being said, though, it is still very possible to be overwhelmed with everything you have to do.
Here are some strategies for making life more manageable.
Getting Your Task List Down
As we discussed in Help! My Task List Is Overwhelming!, you need to get your task list down to a manageable level and stage things as necessary. By pruning the list and prioritizing based on parking lots, you can get the list down to the point where it is manageable, and the rest is in a holding pattern.
Being Effective
The next thing to consider is one of the pillars of productivity: are you being effective in what you are doing?
Being effective means that you are doing the right things. If your overall goal is to write a book, designing the cover might fit into it, but it isn’t as effective as actually putting the words on the paper.
Being ineffective means that you’re not getting things done because you’re not doing the things that will add up to “done”.
Make sure that what you are doing is the right thing to do to move you closer to whatever outcome you are trying to reach.
Being Efficient
The next pillar of productivity to consider: are you being efficient in what you are doing?
You can pound a nail in with a shoe, but it doesn’t work as well, and you will probably leave yourself more work as you clean the scuff marks off the wall.
Being efficient means you are doing things in the best way possible. This generally also means that you will be doing things quickest.
Being inefficient means at best you are wasting time, or at worst, you are making more work for yourself.
Make sure that you are doing your tasks in the best way possible.
Conclusion
Feeling like you will never get it all done is the truth. But you can get most of it done by pruning your task list, and doing the remaining tasks effectively and efficiently.
Photo by Marc Lagneau. Licensed under Creative Commons.
