2 easy steps to actually getting things done

Get it down in black and white

One of the biggest ways we see people unnecessarily spending mental energy is trying to remember all the things they need to do. Think about having maximum 100 energy credits in a day – spending 10 of these mentally trying to remember your to do list is probably not energy credits well spent.

Let’s face it, both inside and outside of work there are so many things to remember to do. And often it’s the little things that slip through the cracks. And if your brain is working really productively quite often you’ll remember things that you need to do while you’re on the go.

Enter……..the to-do list. Everyone carries their phone most places these days so it’s a good idea to work out some sort of system for keeping a to-do list – some people like to have a special app. Others just use their notes section. Whatever works for you it’s a good idea to make an entry on the to-do list as soon as it comes to you.

This should hopefully stop you waking up in the middle of the night with things that you need to remember for tomorrow. If you do wake up in the middle of the night – keep a pen and paper beside the bed to write them down. This is easier than dealing with the phone in the middle of the night.

Schedule it

Once you have an easy way to capture all of the items on your to-do list, the next step is to schedule these items. You will rarely have spare time to actually do your to-do list unless you to actively schedule the important items so that you prioritise them.

So once you put these two steps in place, we’d love to hear how you go getting through your to-do list with more success.

This article was written by AIA Australia specialist partner Next Evolution Performance.