How to eliminate self-imposed overwhelm Do|Delegate|Delay|Delete

Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of things you need to get done in a day? Are you feeling totally lost and don’t know where to begin?

When it comes to managing your to-do list, the first step is to get it out of your head and onto paper. David Allen from GTD said, “Your head is for having thoughts and not for holding on to them.” Writing down your list will help you to prioritize and make sure that you don’t miss anything.

Otherwise, you’re so busy trying to remember everything that you're supposed to do, there's no room for any fun stuff. (Like dreaming and creating. )

Rather than having 10 different lists for the 10 different areas ( which feel like spinning plates) in our lives, why not have one master list? This will make life much easier, as you can go to one place to find what needs to be done.

The problem with most lists is that we tend to set ourselves up for overwhelm. We include everything we can think of and expect to do it all TODAY!

Unrealistic right? Why do we set ourselves up for this self-imposed overwhelm? Not everything has to be done today, in fact using these 4 questions you will find that some things don’t have to be done at all.

Use the 4 D’s to prioritise once you have written down your list,

Question no 1: What things must I do today?

DO – Things you must do today, the tasks that are important and have a legitimate deadline. The frogs (not sure what those are read my blog here)

Question 2: Who can I delegate to?

DELEGATE: Leverage those around you. You need to get things done but you don’t necessarily have to do it all yourself. It is okay to ask for help. Particularly if you know that the person is more skilled in that area and can get this done in a shorter amount of time – examples that come to mind are bookkeeping or social media content.

Question 3: What task can I delay?

DELAY: We often feel the need to get it all done asap and we don’t want to delay things. But these are the items on the list that we keep moving forward each day. You know what I am talking about, don’t you?

Why keep moving it when you can allocate time to do the task later. You are not putting it off but rather placing it in your schedule at a more realistic and convenient time.

The last question is : 4: What can I delete from my list?

DELETE: Some things on the list have been sitting there for a very long time. These may now even become irrelevant or unnecessary. Go on, you can do it – CROSS IT OFF THE LIST! What a relief that is.

So, are you ready to take back control of your task list, or as I like to call it, your action plan?

Here is a summary of how you can get started right away:

1. Write down your list of tasks on a master list.

2. Prioritize the list using the 4 D's: Do, Delegate, Delay, or Discard.

3. Allocate the remaining tasks into your diary.

4. Do the tasks at the allocated time. Why? Because you are the most important person in your diary!

For an extra tip: color-code your list.

Now you are armed with the 4 D’s lock them in and get those tasks done.

Would you like to take back control of your task list and your time?

Get in touch via the contact form here for a discovery call or let’s book some one-on-one coaching so we can get you back in control of your 24 hours.

Remember it is okay to ask for help!