5 ways to tackle your to do list without getting stuck
I’m a professional project manager and I even got stuck when I was planning my wedding. The sheer number of things to do was so overwhelming I didn’t even know where to begin. I would start one thing, get overwhelmed, and then start a different thing and before I knew it I wasn’t moving forward at all, all I was doing was spinning my wheels. I knew I had to take a step back and get organized.
#1 Break it up into categories
Think about how you can group things together. Pick overarching categories that you can move a bunch of your to do items under. For my wedding I chose ceremony, reception, decorations, music, and getting ready. I was able to take my ginormous list and break it down, all of a sudden things started to feel so much more feasible.
#2 Focus on one section at a time
Now that I had a much more doable to do list I could pick one category to focus on. Instead of looking at 50 things I needed to do I was looking at 10 things which made such a difference. I felt like I could actually start to get things done without feeling like I was all over the place.
#3 Actually finish the thing and cross it off the list
I am so guilty of this. I’ll start an item on my list, hit a roadblock, abandon ship, and start something else on my list. This is so not helpful, not only am I left with a bunch of half done items but I am also not actually getting anything done. Instead, cross off what you completed and add another to do for the next step to complete. So if I had reception music on my to do list and I came up with a list but felt like I was missing something I could cross off reception music and add review reception music with my partner.
#4 Write a new list
There is going to come a point where your list has a ton of items crossed off and other items added to the bottom as your list continues to grow. While this is great progress and means things are moving along it can also get really messy and can start to look confusing when you need to decide what to do next. Take a moment to clean it up and write a new list. It will feel like a fresh start and energize you to get going on the next thing.
#5 Give yourself a time frame
I know I can get easily distracted, that might be jumping around from task to task or falling into a Pinterest hole. Either way, before I know it an hour or more has gone by and I haven’t gotten anything done. Choose a time frame that works best for you. That might be picking a few tasks a week to conquer or it might be picking two tasks a day to complete. That way when you start to stray, it’s okay, you can remind yourself of what you promised you would get done and refocus without going to far from where you need to be.
It’s hard. But with a little perspective and organization you can work your way through it. It’s totally normal to get overwhelmed so don’t beat yourself up. If you need a little help along the way check out my Personal Project Management offerings.