We’ve recently been posting on LinkedIn about my work with one of our clients who’s currently implementing Taskology® to take control of his workday and skyrocket his efficiency and productivity.
Today, I want to share with you what the PROCESS is like and at the same time, share our client’s PROGRESS. It’s important to understand real-life examples in order to picture what your workday would be like when you’re operating more efficiently, effectively, and productively.
Along the way, I also want to give you some helpful recommendations based on what I’m seeing in each leg of his journey.
Our client—we’ll call him Sam—was introduced to me by a mutual connection. He’s a business owner of not one, but TWO businesses on the East Coast, and to say that Sam was frustrated and overwhelmed when he came to me would be an understatement.
Before we started our work together, Sam and I had a phone call and he told me he was CONSTANTLY feeling reactive. He said he was putting out fires and consistently falling behind. He was interested in increasing efficiencies for himself and also his team in one of the businesses, which he said was “a fast-paced business” and “things are falling through the cracks.”
What stood out to me was what Sam said in his initial survey that we administer for all new clients. These were his answers to the question, “What are you tired of in your workday?”
- Never feeling done
- Thinking about how much I have to do tonight/tomorrow
- Trying to figure out how all this sh*t fits in with the family plans
- Which direction will the next bombshell come from?
- Do I have enough scotch to get through this night project?
- Will I make my first Friday afternoon tee time in three weeks or should I cancel now?
Does any of that resonate with you?
Some of those statements may have made you chuckle, because Sam is quite funny, but his situation isn’t. It’s not funny at all.
And certainly, he’s not alone.
I talk with MANY people who are in the same boat—or in a similar one—when they first contact me for help. And each time I accompany a client on this path of transformation, I’m thrilled to watch them go from STRESS to SUCCESS. It’s why I do what I do and it’s why my work is incredibly satisfying to me every single day.
This is Sam’s journey…
PART ONE: TASKS
On our first call, Sam built his brand-new, central, digital Task List, which he felt REALLY good about once he stepped back to see all that he had accomplished.
To do this, our main objective was finding all of his tasks to build his list, but as a by-product of this process, Sam was able to COMPLETELY clear his desk of all papers, files, and post-it notes.
Imagine getting your desk back?!
He could also “download” all sorts of tasks that were running through his head.
Imagine being able to focus 100% on the next person you have a conversation with without a bunch of mental clutter?
By the end of the first call, not only did Sam feel GREAT about having this new Task List, but in his words, he felt, “…more relaxed and in control of my time.” BAM! 💥 …after only a few hours.
➡️ Your beliefs and long-standing habits are holding you back.My recommendation for you…
Do a THOROUGH review of what’s in your head, on your desk, and on your existing to-do lists. Find every task you can. Then CONSOLIDATE tasks and start a central, digital, Task List in ONE tool or system. This is the Power of ONE.
As you gather tasks, you’ll be able to part with a LOT of things that are likely “hanging around”—on your desk, in your office, in your briefcase, or on your mind.
As you add tasks to your list, you’ll get more and more clarity of what’s on your plate. And when you enter “Do” Dates (those are dates of ACTION, not DUE dates!) for each task, you’ll be able to plan and prioritize more accurately and make smart decisions about how to spend your precious time.
For more about centralizing tasks, watch my YouTube video called “Scattered Tasks.”
PART TWO: EMAIL
Between sessions #1 and #2, Sam tightened up his plan for getting tasks accomplished. Then, in Session #2, Sam learned how to get tasks and follow ups OUT of his email Inbox and onto the Taskology® Task List, but WITHOUT using the flag. With the new lessons he learned, he was able to get his Inbox to ZERO. Yep… ZERO.
Sam said he loved this new process, saying, “Processing email this way is great! I’m not missing anything and I’m getting to back to people like I need to.” Awesome. 👍
➡️ My recommendation for you…
If you have emails from WAY back, you’re clogging up your email Inbox. And NOTHING is best managed while it’s STILL sitting in the Inbox.
With an overloaded Inbox, you’re less able to keep up with tasks and follow ups. You’re less able to catch opportunities when they come up. You’ll have a harder time finding information fast. And the worst part?
You’re re-reading emails you’ve ALREADY seen, but couldn’t do anything with. 🤦♀️
Review what’s in your email Inbox right now. 👀 How many years back do you have in there?
Get all of the older years of email OUT of the Inbox and into a folder name for the year or years those emails represent, whether it’s a folder you create or a system Archive folder.
Get everything out except the most recent 3 months and then focus on processing THOSE out of the Inbox, one by one, making decisions about which ones have tasks or follow ups, which ones can be filed, which ones can be deleted, and which ones have information you need to save in other specific places or systems.
Getting to zero in the Inbox is NOT just about getting the white space. Getting to zero is essential for a few important reasons.
- You don’t want to fly blind throughout your workday. Awareness and clarity of tasks and information are ESSENTIAL. You need to know that you’ve seen everything, you’ve made decisions on everything, and you’ve moved them all to better locations of either reference or action, or they’re gone: archived or deleted. This brings an ENORMOUS amount of clarity and control back into your day.
- Most importantly, you must know your task list shows ALL of your tasks, including those from email. Without a COMPLETE task list and 100% awareness, you’re not able to efficiently or accurately plan and prioritize tasks. It’s a gamble whether or not you’re working on the right priorities from moment to moment or from day to day, and you won’t know what you’ve missed or forgotten, which can make or break not only your productivity, but also deals, projects, jobs, relationships, teamwork, progress, opportunities, and more.
For more about what to do with your overloaded email Inbox, check out this article I wrote.
PART THREE: TIME
Between sessions, Sam continued to build and strengthen his habits and routines around the new Taskology® Task List and the email process. The third piece of the system that he’s also implemented is the method for protecting time. He uses one “master” calendar now, where before he was using two, which caused him a lot of issues, conflicts, and wasted time.
Sam said that the new plan was working, which meant that he was getting more quiet, focused time, but without shutting out his team or being too inaccessible when they needed him.
➡️ My recommendation for you…
Choose ONE calendar to be your MASTER calendar.
When managing multiple calendars, you can easily overlook an appointment when you’re looking at one calendar and not the other(s). Plus, it’s high maintenance to take care of more than one calendar, especially when synchronization DOESN’T work, and then it can make you tear your hair out.
You must have ONE place you can trust and rely on in order to know where your time is committed and where it’s available. Otherwise, you’ll spend (more like “waste”) a lot of time going back and forth between multiple calendars to see where you need to be from hour to hour.
Also, your Master Calendar should be task-free. For more about that, you can read this article I wrote: “6 Reasons to Skip Using Your Calendar for Managing Tasks.”
