Do you find that your to do list just turns into a bunch of questions?

When I would start getting overwhelmed with work, in a fury I would do a huge brain dump on a legal pad. All of the things that I just had to get done in an effort to get it out of my head and organized. What ended up happening more often than not was that my to-do list would have more questions on it than to-dos.

To-dos are actions, not questions.

My to-do list would look something like this:

– Find out if my merchant account allow for recurring payments and how to set them up

– Learn how to use Leadpages

– Email advisory board about 2nd quarter goals

– Create video for webinar

– Write blog post about team communication

– Find out if email marketing system will filter out groups

– Find a venue for the next networking event

– Find out if Verizon or ATT is the best for our business account

Only 3 of these 8 items are actually actionable to-dos.

The majority of my to-do list would be pages of questions/research and I would be overwhelmed again. Can you relate? Is your to-do list filling up with things you need to “find out?”

It’s time to make 2 lists. A to-do list and a research/questions list.

Once you separate the two, you’ll find that your to-do list is swiftly and easily completed each day. Getting the questions out of the way, allows you to clearly get into productivity mode and taking action. Tackle this list during a peak hour of energy. Start your day off by taking action on the things that are actually actionable. You’ll probably find that you’ve completed the day’s list within a half hour to an hour. The feeling of accomplishment and being productive is a high we all know too well. Ride that high as you move into working on answering questions, learning new programs, researching questions. The little to-dos won’t be nagging you anymore and your day will be more productive. Win-Win!