4 Ways to Get The Right Things Done

Do you ever feel like you spend time doing things that aren’t actually helping you reach your goals?

I know the feeling. But you have the power to do more of the right things. It’s all about reconsidering how you work.

When I first started working from home, I made myself get up early every morning. That’s what I did when I was a TV producer. I felt like the only way to carry over my productivity from my previous role was to set the same schedule for myself. 

But it didn’t work! 

I wasn’t getting the right things done and I felt overwhelmed. I realized that I need to have some time to read the paper and drink tea in the morning. That’s because I like to ease into my morning and “read in” as they call it in the newsroom. That is - getting ready for the day and seeing what’s ahead of you. 

Once I decided I wasn’t going to take any meetings before 11 a.m., my productivity skyrocketed. 

That simple change helped me focus on getting the right things done. You can make small changes and see big results — here’s how. 

Tap into your own productivity style.

Everyone has a unique productivity style. You have to monitor your habits and feelings to see what conditions are helpful and hurtful. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to figure out how, where, and when you work best:

• What sounds are distracting or focusing while I work?
• What times of day do I feel the most (and least) motivated?
• Is Zoom fatigue bringing me down? (I’ve got some tips for this one!)
• Do I work better with self-imposed deadlines or when I have accountability buddies?

Once you start paying attention to your productivity style, you can begin tailoring your routine to match your style. You’ll spend less time procrastinating and getting distracted, allowing you to get more done. 

Create do-able lists.

Making lists of daily tasks that you can actually accomplish is one important step towards getting more of the right things done.

Having lists with vague items like “produce more content” or “connect with clients” is unhelpful. Those kinds of lists just make you feel overwhelmed! Instead, make lists of specific, do-able items, like “shoot this week’s video” or “send a follow-up LinkedIn message.” 

Getting those items checked off your list will encourage you and motivate you to keep going, and it trains you to make big goals into smaller chunks that you can actually achieve.

It’s easy to get distracted by non-urgent yet specific tasks — so breaking down your important tasks into small pieces will help them compete with things like “clean the tub.”

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Outsource.

To get more of the right things done, you sometimes need to delegate tasks to other people.

I work with someone who is in charge of my website designs, for example. Outsourcing that area of my business allows me to have more time for other things, like creating my LinkedIn courses. 

When you’re thinking about how to use outsourcing, consider whether the thing that is taking up your time could be more effectively done by another person. If the answer is yes, look into ways you can assign the task to a better-suited colleague or hire someone to help you.

Stay motivated.

Lagging motivation is one of the biggest ways you can undermine your productivity. It’s hard to get the right things done when you aren’t motivated to work.

I find that reflecting on what’s working well already helps me think positively when my motivation is lacking. Remind yourself why you’re doing this work and think about your long-term goals.

Here’s some prompts to get you started:

• Where do you want to be in 10 years, professionally? How are you already working towards that right now?
• What brings you the most joy in your work on a daily basis? How can you bring more of that into your routine?
• What obstacles have you already overcome? What skills did you build in those situations?

These prompts can help you situate your current lack of motivation in a larger narrative about your career journey. Considering how you got to where you are and what you want to accomplish will help motivate you on a smaller scale. Plus, this kind of reflection will allow you to see what you’re actually passionate about and what kind of work you want to focus on. 

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STAY TUNED: A PRODUCTIVITY COURSE FOR ENTREPRENEURS 

I’m excited that in just a few days I’ll be opening the doors to my long-awaited productivity course, “Design Your Life: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap to Ultimate Productivity” for a short time. 

I’ve put it together based on everything you and the readers of my books Listful Thinking and Listful Living have told me you need to be more efficient and less stressed! 

To be the first to hear all about it please join my list here.

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