Welcome to the 2nd article in my series of 6, in which I am sharing my 6 TOP TIPS ON HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR LIFE LIKE A PRO!

TOP TIP Number 1 was about mastering your online calendar (if you missed that article you can see it here https://www.earlvaservices.co.uk/blog/6-top-tips-on-how-to-organise-your-life-like-a-pro).

We are all busy but are we busy doing the right tasks? Do you start an important task only to get sidetracked and sucked down another rabbit hole?

I like to get to the end of my day and feel happy that I achieved something important, as I then don’t beat myself up for the zillion other things I haven’t yet done.

Part of organising your life like a pro is deciding on and focusing on certain key tasks each day. You really can’t do it all (nor should you, Article 6 is all about delegation and outsourcing) but you can prioritise key tasks each morning that you know you can absolutely achieve that day.

I use To Do Lists every day for my business and personal life (I have one “this all has to happen” list for my business and personal life and then lists for each client).

I love writing a To Do List for the day and crossing things off as it makes me feel a sense of achievement and I never feel as if I have wasted my day or wonder what I have accomplished.

Having a daily To Do List where you only write down what you must achieve that day helps you to focus on what you have to do. Unless something comes up that is desperately urgent you can focus on your list and purposely ignore outside distractions.

If easily distracted you can turn your mobile over so you can’t see any messages popping up on the screen. Sit somewhere quiet if you need peace to focus. Close your office door and ask not be disturbed if need be.

I have other To Do Lists that cover the bigger ticket items and things I want to achieve in the longer term but this article focuses purely on the daily To Do List.

TOP TIP NUMBER 2:   MASTER USING DAILY TO DO LISTS

• Firstly, choose whether you prefer to use an app or pen and paper (I like pen and paper for my daily list so I can manually cross things off as I don’t get the same sense of achievement on an app).

• Be realistic when planning your day. Don’t give yourself a stick to beat yourself with by putting too much on the list. For me, a daily To Do List is about consistent forward movement. Some days I move forward in leaps and bounds, other days it’s small steps.

• Look at your schedule for the day, see what time you have and consider what you can achieve with it. Block time out of your calendar for the tasks you need to accomplish.

• Try to estimate how long a task will take and then see if you are right. This will show you if you are setting yourself up for success by correctly estimating time required. There’s nothing worse than feeling like a failure because you didn’t get x, y, z done, when actually that was never possible anyway.

• When estimating time required remember that you need to stop here and there to eat, drink, move around, have a few minutes to yourself! Don’t fill every second of the day. Meditation time is on my to do list every day because it’s so important to me (I always do it but could forget if it wasn’t on my list. Seeing it on my list reminds me to make 15 minutes available for it).

• Include some easy wins and one or two more complex tasks. You are aiming for a sense of achievement at the end of EVERY day (which doesn’t mean always getting everything on your list done).

• Do not add to this list. If something comes up that you have to deal with so be it. If something needs to be done but not today then record it elsewhere.

• If something is on your daily list day after day then look at whether you are procrastinating. Do you need to chunk it down? I did just that with this article. I didn’t write it all in one go. I just kept coming back to it consistently until it was done.

• Do the higher priority items first. Then it’s really not the end of the world if a couple of items you really wanted to get done didn’t happen (but you did complete the presentation you are giving the next day!).

• ·After the higher priority items, do the thing you least want to do from the rest of your list. Get it out of the way or it will be on your mind until you do. Then you can spend the rest of your day being productive with the other items on your list that you are happy to do. You will also have a sense of achievement from getting your least favourite task done (or just be happy to see the back of it!).

• Make items on the list very specific. If you need to do the first step in a larger project, write that step down rather than the larger project. You should be able to glance at the list and think, oh yeah, I know exactly what I need to do, and then just get on with it.

• Obviously, you need to keep the list visible to keep you focused and on track (and so you can cross things off to see that you are making progress).

• At the end of the day congratulate yourself for what you did achieve rather than focusing on what you didn’t. Some days you just can’t get it all done (always reflect on whether your list was realistic in the first place too). I know I will always prioritise client work above my own so if something comes up from a client that comes before my own to do list.

• Write a new list each day.

• Create a routine of when you write your To Do List. You could do it at the end of the working day, in the evening or first thing in the morning (which is my preference).

I said this in my first article but it’s worth repeating! Consider whether anyone else can help with your personal To Do List and also whether you could outsource any business or personal tasks because you really don't have to do it all.

My next Top Tip focuses on Detoxing and Organising your Inbox.

Yolanda is a freelance Virtual Assistant and organisational gem who loves to lighten the load for busy entrepreneurs and small businesses.