DOING YOUR TO DO LIST

I made a breakthrough on my to do list. The problem was witting on a piece of paper or even putting it on your computer. It is easy then to overlook it. I had a brainwave. What I do now is e mail it to myself and it sits on my e mail until at least the next day reminding me I should the items. I also do not delete it until I have written out another to do list which is of course each day.

I can cut and paste those items that I have not done and bring them forward unto the new to do list.

The other breakthrough is the use of a Google calendar, I put all my appointments in the Google calendar and I can alter it on line. I can access it anywhere and so can my secretaries. It means there are no more pieces of paper

Doing your To do list- just three things

Even on my day off I have a to do list. I only put a maximum of five things on there, I then work my way through it. It is a very satisfying experience and you feel you have made progress.
I get all the usual excuses "oh I have too many things to put on my to do list and even if I did put things on I get so many interruptions that I can’t get them done. As soon as the phones go I have people chasing me and demanding that I do things."

Again I have never seen any of these people succeed. Yes we have a certain amount of interruptions but if we have a framework of what we are supposed to be doing today it gives you a structure.

Also perhaps all these people interrupting you are forcing on you their agenda and not you’re own. If you take on any work that comes through the door you might be subject to constant interruptions.

I gave up doing small unremunerative matters because I found that they gave me the largest number or phone calls for the least amount of money. Do not go home until you have done your three most important things or at least moved them on. Tomorrow put them back on your list and do the same again.

If they are still on your list a month later either you are incapable of doing the job or you need external help. If the job is beyond you are you wish you had never taken it on admit it and get rid of it even if you lose money on the deal.

If you need external help then get that help. I have had some insurmountable problems over the last year. All of them were resolvable and I took appropriate advice to move them on
Now all my problems are day to day problems and I know how to deal with them I just have not got round to doing them They are however on my to do list. They will not go of the list until they have been dealt with.

The three things on your list have to be the toughest things that must be dealt with today.
My current to-do list has one thing that has been bugging me for a couple of weeks. I have the excuse that Christmas came in the way. I can back out of the job entirely if I want to with a slight loss of face but no t to anyone that matters. It is purely a business decision.
The other is on behalf of a friend and is costing him money until I resolve it.
The other is one is something that I have to arrange for tomorrow so cannot be put off.
Two of them will be resolved in a few days and the other needs direct action by me. No amount of excuses is going to cut any ice with any of those, they need to be done
Nothing goes on my list until all three of those have at least been decided on. It is easy to keep stuffing the list with more things and dealing with all the easy ones. This then looks good as you can say but I have done 80 per cent of the items on my list,
The problem is the three that need to be done do not get done. We then become irritable and defensive. But I have been working as hard as possible. Yes you have doing the less important things and making yourself look very busy in deed.
So it is doing the right things in the right order.

Daily- to do list

Each day either last thing at night or first ting put down your three most important items, it has to be daily if you are taking matters seriously.Every day is a gift and do not waste it. Even if you leave the routine matters every day they will all become urgent but not important.

I cannot take seriously a certain number of my clients who I send statements to at the end of transactions. Then during the month of January when the deadline of 31 January start asking me basic question such as how much they paid for their property, when did it complete, how much is there mortgage etc. These people are in business and this is their main residence. How are they running their business?

I am no saint but I collect all my financial paperwork in once file and forward to it to my account a few months before the deadline.

If there are too many things on your to do list that should have been done months ago then you are using the wrong method. As you daily to do list gets done these incidents will be less and less.
Also if your daily to do list becomes easier and easier you will then have time to deal with the crisis’s that come up. That is things that the most well organized have overlooked.
6Weekly-to do list
Each Monday morning my secretary prints out my weekly work diary. This has the effect of reminding me what needs to be achieved by Friday.

It allows an overview of the whole week. Things that are happening on Friday need to be thoroughly checked on Wednesday not on Friday. Two days grace is plenty of time to resolve most cock ups.

You can then arrive at Friday safe in the knowledge that as far as possible thing are in hand.
Also all the surprise things that you had forgotten about can be reviewed such as appointments you need to prepare for lunches you had booked can be taken into account.

I am now using the Google Calendar which has the advantage that all my secretaries can look at the same colander and put in appointments and make changes and we are all looking at the same document. Previously we run separate calendars. That has the habit of breaking down. It becomes very difficult to run two systems side by side. Something is going to get missed.
We put so many brought forward that we try to eliminate the possibility of mistakes.
Nothing goes out of the brought forward system until it has been finally resolves.

We have two back up systems which is the accounts which will show if there is any money outstanding in the system, a physical check of the files.The ultimate back up system which you do not want to rely on and is embarrassing when it happens is when other people contact you or the client themselves phone and ask what is going on.

The idea is to be one step ahead of the clients that is what they are paying you for your expertise in doing the job.

Monthly -to do list

It gets more difficult the longer the period. The daily to do list is those matters that have to be done today.

The monthly to do list obviously includes those things that are in the diary for that month. All your appointments need to be covered. You have time to prepare the paperwork.

I am as guilty as the next person but I now try to

1 Make sure I know where the venue is
2 How do I get to the venue?
3 What do I need when I get there?
4 Take everybody’s phone numbers in case of emergencies
5 Contact everyone the day before to double check it is in their diaries and that things are still going ahead.
You cannot prepare too much. It avoids a lot of embarrassment things go wrong. You will also save the embarrassment of the others going to the meeting if you have reminded them and they have forgotten.
If you can avoid the meeting and settle before hand try and do so. Right up to the last minute.
All deadlines should be in the diary and false deadlines. Better to review the file today to see if you should be doing things in the meantime. This is a job you can delegate to your secretary to read the last few letters to make sure noting has been missed. Once she has done it you must check she has it right. No point turning up at the venue with the wrong papers as the wrong place and blaming your secretary. Yours is the ultimate responsibility.
Monthly to do lists should also start to work on more fundamental matters such as

1 Clear a certain number of outstanding accounts
2 Move dead files out of the current system
3 Chase up a few recalcitrant clients who have not paid.
4 Bill matters that have gone temporally quiet. This usually either results in payment or more instructions to move the matter on.

I have no more than three overall aims for the month. They may be the same aims each month but they are background activities that must be achieved and not left indefinitely.Try to treat the beginning of each month as a new beginning so as to re launch you for that month.

It is very easy to become complacent and think it is OK to work on years or quarters. Monthly reviews and relaunches will resolve most problems before they arrive.

Setting goals - six months goal

This is more strategic thinking. I have all my personal goals stuck to my fridge. They are for public consumption and are about doing things around the house. Each item in itself may be quite small but by putting it in the programme it gets thought about and looked at.
If it is decorating type jobs a copy goes to my handyman and he puts that into his programme so that he is aware of what we are thinking.

He is allowed to bring them forward or let them slip by a month or so.If they are not done they go into the next programme.By publishing and making them public they will be done.
For your work goals they can be such things as buy a new computer, redecorate office, send someone on a training course, improve account gathering etc.

Nothing is too small or too big to go on the list. Just six spread over six months.I don’t tend to refer back to it until I need to write another one. I am always amazed how many we have achieved. Some become redundant as things move on or become impossible to do because the task was too big. Best to keep it to smaller achievable tasks.

I have been doing this for about the last two and half years and using this method alone I have made amazing strides. I know now what I am doing roughly for the next six months. Again it is not a strait jacket but a plan. It can be changed but gives you peace of mind that things are getting done when you review your year.

I get everyone in on the process; everyone can have some in input. In fact insist that they give you art least three ideas of what they would like to see happen. That includes all the staff and your partners.

Telling people your goals

Goal setting is a controversial subject. The knowledgeable will tell you that they have a goal or a set of goals but they have not written it down. It is all in their head. They can then keep it secret. This is because of fear of failure or being shown up in front of other people.
When I started I was subject to a certain amount of ridicule.

This has died down as they now know that I am achieving the goals that I have set. Also if they get too clever I ask to see their goals or for them to tell me what they achieved last year. They soon change the subject. The answer is of course nothing.