Take off the invisible weight of your work

‍The invisible weight of our unfinished work.

I’m talking about that nagging, never-ending to-do list. Sorry… did I just give you the Sunday Scarries? No worries, by the end of this lesson, you’ll have a better plan for organizing your work.

Here’s the problem…

Our to-do lists are supposed to be helpful, but they’re not. They’re supposed to make things clear, concise, and actionable. But so often, they do the exact opposite.

Sure, sometimes it’s helpful to list every task and knock them off one at a time, but other times, seeing the sheer length of your unfinished work makes the overwhelm even worse.

How are you supposed to focus on one task if you can’t stop thinking about how you HAVE to finish it within 15 minutes to make time for the next task? Or how can you be productive when your mind is nagging you about whether or not you picked the “right” task in the first place?

If you’re always stressed about everything you have to do, you’ll never be able to do your best work.

That’s why most of us finish each day feeling less accomplished than we hoped.

This means that the giant weight we hoped to offload and leave at work is still weighing heavy on our minds as we go home. The to-do list that was supposed to help us focus, is now keeping us from connecting with the people who matter the most.

Spread this across every member of your team, and you’re left with a workforce that’s not only unproductive but unsatisfied with their work-life balance.

Here’s where most people go wrong.

Most teams do not have a streamlined system for managing tasks.

Instead, most employees manage their tasks on paper and in their email inbox. With this approach, everything is scattered. You’re already busy. You don’t have time to waste digging through emails to figure out what you’re supposed to do today.

Here’s what I recommend.

If you’re not already, start using a task management system. I recommend using Asana. Not only will it keep tasks organized, it will also keep them prioritized.

Here are 3 tips for effectively managing tasks for you and your team.

1. Define Projects: Start by clearly defining your projects. This foundational step ensures every task has a purpose and a place.
2. Align Tasks: Ensure each task is directly tied to a specific project. This alignment keeps your work organized and goal-oriented. It also might weed out tasks that are simply unimportant.
3. Assign Due Dates: Give a specific due date to every task. This transforms your to-do list from a collection of vague intentions into a set of actionable steps.

These simple tips will help you alleviate the main pressure of task management: deciding which thing to focus on first.

When you know exactly what project a task is serving, when that project is due, and most importantly, when that task is due, it clears everything up.

Instead of sitting down every day, wondering what to focus on first, you can sit down and get to work.

Here’s your action item for this week.

Set aside 30 minutes to…

1. Set up an Asana account (if you don’t have one.)
2. Create one project (yes, just one to start.)
3. Put the respective tasks into your Asana project with due dates. Try it out.

See how it feels to have a simple, organized system for task management. If you enjoy the process, schedule a call with my team, and we’ll help you set up an extremely efficient, streamlined system for organizing all the tasks in your organization.

If you're ready to take control of your digital world and want to know where to start, take our Quiz: How Organized Are You? to find your starting place.