Where are your limits?

How often do you end the day with ten or more tasks left on your to-do list? This is an important question because if your answer is “frequently”, it tells you that you are attempting to push beyond your limits.

One of the Time Sector System concepts is learning how much you can get done each week and using that as a guidepost to plan your week. For me, that’s around thirty tasks. This number does not include my regular low-value routine tasks; it represents deep, meaningful tasks that complete essential work and projects.

Knowing this number means you can avoid overwhelming yourself when you plan the week by ensuring that the number of tasks in your This Week folder is no more than your maximum.

Some of you may already have done the maths and realised that my average number of daily tasks over a week is a little over four. Those are four meaningful tasks that get done every day.

My average working time is between fourteen and sixteen hours a day (which I know is more than most, but then I run my own business, and there’s a time sacrifice involved when running your own business). Yet, I can only complete around four or five meaningful daily tasks.

When I include my routine tasks, my average weekly number of completed tasks is seventy. That’s around ten tasks per day.

Whenever my coaching clients conduct this experiment, they usually find that they, too, are completing a similar number of daily tasks. It seems the optimum number is around ten to fifteen daily tasks for most.

Task managers work brilliantly when used correctly. If all you do is dump tasks in there and add random dates to them, you will not find a task manager very helpful. It will only create days of being overwhelmed and stressed. If you want to get on top of things, establish your limits.

How many tasks can you realistically complete, and what is the maximum number of meetings you will allow on your calendar each day? Find these numbers and set them as rules.

This will teach you the art of prioritisation. It will help you eliminate the unimportant and unnecessary tasks so you can focus on the more meaningful and worthwhile tasks. It will also leave you feeling less exhausted at the end of the day because you have not depleted all your mental energy on meetings, which will leave you with enough energy to spend quality time with your family and friends at the end of the day.

Have you got your copy of my book yet?

Your Time, Your Way: Time Well Managed, Life Well Lived