Promises are piling up—and being reliable is the new competitive advantage.
Have you ever noticed that the more you say yes, the harder it becomes to actually deliver?
Commitments stack up. Expectations rise. And completion doesn’t always keep pace.
What starts as good intentions can quietly turn into overextension—where you’re working harder, staying later, and you STILL feel like you’re falling behind.
This isn’t a motivation problem. And it’s not a capability issue either.
It’s a workload management problem.
And unless something changes, it’s going to keep costing you.
The cost shows up in missed deadlines, broken promises, and growing pressure to do more with less.
Even your reputation.
The truth is, if you struggle to get through your day and reach targets, it’s not because you lack the discipline or the drive.
It’s about HOW you’re working.
The way you’re working no longer matches the work you’re being asked to do.
The pace is faster. The volume is higher. The margin for error is smaller.
And yet, you and countless other professionals are still relying on routines and habits that may have worked years ago, but aren’t holding up to today’s demands.
If you’re serious about getting RESULTS for the time and effort you put in every day (and I know you are!), you know how essential it is to BE and STAY productive.
Not to run yourself into the ground doing it, no! But to accomplish your work better, faster, more easily. And to have more personal time afterward, too.
You can do that, believe it or not. It’s actually a lot simpler than you imagine.
The reason for simplicity is this…
The less complicated your workday, the more time you get to spend doing what you do best. What you WANT to do. What you’re MEANT to do.
The MORE complicated your workday is, the LESS time you get for anything worthwhile.
If you want to keep producing, delivering, and being counted on—without burning out—something has to change in how you manage your work and run your workday.
What I want you to be able to do is create the MOST productive workday routines possible so you can not only do your best, but serve others, expand your impact, and lead your best life.
Just don’t expect to run your workday the SAME way from year to year.
Your work is always changing, so your workday routines need to change to support you, too.
Make these 3 fundamental mindset shifts to work differently (and better!) and STOP doing what DOESN’T work.
1 / DO focus on what you need now. DON’T pretend that your workday is the same as ever.
Over the years, so many clients have said, “I used to be able to keep up, but now I can’t.” Or “My old way of doing things used to work, but now it doesn’t.”
Sound familiar? If so, it’s because the workday you had 5 or 10 years ago isn’t the same as the one you have today.
If you struggle to keep up and get everything done on time, and wish you had more personal time left over, your workday routines of old don’t match the workday you have now.
You may have LESS time now in your current position, but MORE tasks and MORE email than ever. You may not have the same kind of team or co-workers as before. You might not even be in the same company!
🛑 Whatever you do, don’t try to continue working the same way as you did five or ten years ago.
✅ Address your needs TODAY and ask, what’s working? And what’s not?
2 / DO focus on documenting tasks. DON’T rely on your memory.
Do you ever think, “I used to be REALLY good at remembering things, but now it’s getting harder?” If so, you probably can’t remember things like you used to, because there’s too much happening too fast every day.
If you really want to achieve great things consistently, you’re GOT to document your tasks—ALL of them—no matter what you’re trying to do or when.
Forget about short-term vs long-term tasks. Everything you need to do is a task. It’s just a matter of WHEN you plan to take action. Get ‘em on the list.
Projects are different than tasks. Projects are BIG. Tasks are the small steps that help you finish a project.
For ALL projects on your plate right now, what’s the first step to get one started? What’s the next step on a project you already have in motion? Get ‘em on the list.
➡️ Trying to remember a brilliant idea you had recently? Get it on the list with a date you want to get it into motion—or at least think about it again.
➡️ Want to keep track of that task you delegated to someone? Get it on the list with an action date for following up the day after it was due to you.
➡️ Want to consider going to that conference or attending that event? Get it on the list with a date when you want to consider the details, including the RSVP deadline and associated early-bird discounts.
When you get every task on the list, it’s the action dates that allow you to separate your tasks by day.
That means grouping them by day, so you don’t have to look at an endless list of everything, which can be overwhelming.
🛑 Don’t try to keep tasks in your head.
✅ Get tasks into a place where you can easily and accurately plan them according to dates of action. Then prioritize them and then get them done.
3 / DO focus on delivering what you promised. DON’T wing it and hope for the best.
If you’ve ever regretted telling someone that you couldn’t reach a deadline or keep a promise on a delivery date, you know how maddening and disappointing it feels.
This is what happens when you don’t have a tight grip on all your tasks and responsibilities. You’re flying blind.
Then, when you’re asked to do something NEW, you don’t actually know for sure how much time you can spare or what you have room for.
But there you go, still promising a completion date, even though you’re a bit fuzzy on everything else you’re currently responsible for.
If you want to stay on top of things, pull tasks AWAY from their sources (email inbox, voice mail, legal pads, social media, papers and files on the desk, meeting notes, etc…)
Get them all into ONE place where you can gain 100% awareness of every task you’ve committed to.
Make sure it’s…
Central: this is the power of ONE.
Digital: let go of paper and planners. They’re seriously holding you back.
Complete: include everything. Leave out nothing. Everything must have a target date of action.
🛑 Stop trying to manage tasks while they’re still sitting at their sources. And don’t try to rely on reminders to help you stay on track. Both are letting you down and creating risks that are hard to recover from when things go wrong.
✅ Seriously. Start a central, digital task list. Pick your favorite digital platform. Then add EVERY task you need to do to, even if you’re not going to take action today, this week , or even this month. (See #2 above!)
RECAP: These are the 3 essential steps to take when you want a more effective workday.
A workday that’s more efficient, effective, and productive.
A workday where you can count on getting things done on time and others can count on YOU.
These 3 steps are where you start.
Remember that creating workday routines that SUPPORT you and your success means simplifying how you manage your day.
When you simplify your workday processes and routines, it affords time for you to be, do, and have more.
And I know that if you’ve read this far, you have the drive to do MORE of what you do best:
To serve others, do your best, do what you’re meant to do, expand your impact, and lead your best life.
You can do it! I know you can.
To help you succeed, my mini-video series for The Fast-Action Formula is the BEST place to start.
It’s the crash course for Taskology® Task Management. And it’s only $149.
