The Jeff Pulver Blog: What do YOU want to do TODAY?

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July 27, 2008

What do YOU want to do TODAY?

Before you start your day, ask yourself the following questions:

-What is it you want to do?
-What is on YOUR Mind?
-Where are YOUR priorities?
-And What Will you end up doing today?

Only when the answer to the first three questions is the same do you have any chance of making this happen.

We often feel we have many things we need to get done at the same time.

If you ever have trouble getting things done, you might want to consider the fact that you can only have ONE number one priority. This is something which took me a long time to understand despite the fact this now seems like an obvious fact.

Sometimes when you have too many things to get done, nothing actually gets done. Depending upon the circumstances you can end up feeling so overwhelmed that you would rather crawl into a hole and hide than stand up and deal with what it takes to get something done.

To get myself out of this hole, there comes a time when I will stop whatever it is I am doing, sit down and
create a “to do list.” I then ask myself “What is the most important ONE thing I can get done NOW?” Once I know the answer to the question, I do whatever I can to make that ONE thing happen. When I complete the task I cross it off my list and I go back and determine my next number one priority. This gets repeated until all of the things I have to get done, ARE done.

Sometimes the hardest part of managing a “to do list” is recognizing the things which you want to get done but have no means of accomplishing despite a strong desire to get it done. Yes they may be your priority, but they don’t deserve to be on your list of things to do TODAY.

The sooner you understand you can only do ONE thing at a time, the sooner you will find yourself in a much more productive state of mind.

- - -

Tags: Entrepreneurship, leadership, Entrepreneur, Jeff Pulver

Please consider leaving a comment. And feel free to find me on twitter and continue this conversation.

Posted by jeff on July 27, 2008 02:14 PM | Permalink

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Posted by: injection molding at June 16, 2009 09:11 PM

I like your questions and I like to ask, "What does the business need from me today?"

I ask this question this way because it gives the business a voice and shifts my perspective to the single most important thing I can to move the 'business' forward.

Posted by: Greg Balanko-Dickson at July 27, 2008 07:56 PM

It turns out that knowing your priorities when it comes to social activities is important too. At times when I have nothing but free time, it seems I'm also the least productive.

Unbounded and structure free is my preference.

But when it comes to applying myself, knowing my priorities and knowing what is doable at the time I sit down to do it has also earned my appreciation.

Posted by: Jeff Pulver at July 27, 2008 05:49 PM

I agree with Adam... I want to get in some good relaxation. I'm sad that I had to schedule that, but I'm happy it's going to get done.

I'm also rethinking the whole "todo" list strategy as a whole, at least, daily todos.

Posted by: Tinu at July 27, 2008 05:41 PM

I totally agree with you. You 're right. We must put priorities if we want something to be done. Don 't you think sometimes we must live without any program? Just to feel free. Sometimes to many schedules make us work like robots. Have a good afternoon.

Posted by: hackaday at July 27, 2008 05:40 PM

I certainly know that feeling of being overwhelmed. You really don't even want to start because there doesn't seem to be any way of getting through it all. But as they say, "The longest journey begins with a single step."
When I get stymied, which happens a lot I'm afraid, I find that what ultimately snaps me out of it is to find one small task, clear my desk of everything else, and just do that one thing. My sense of self-confidence is bolstered and suddenly I find myself ignoring all those distractions and making progress. Whenever I do this, I'm amazed that it took me so long to get to that point.

JoeC

Posted by: Joe Cascio at July 27, 2008 05:38 PM

Makes sense to me - but on a Sunday, I'm thinking nothing much to do but some errands and watching a Red Sox victory over Skankees is enough of a to do list.

For folks with thoughts to a hidden book (or maybe even killer blog post) within, check out "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016.

She makes some great points about prioritizing, not getting overwhelmed and determining what's really important

Posted by: Adam Zand at July 27, 2008 05:36 PM

July 27, 2008

What do YOU want to do TODAY?

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