This week-end was the inaugural Off The Charts Live conference, and I’m still floating from pulling off my first big live event!
As promised, the women (and men!) who attended the event were Off The Charts: smart, supportive, and up to great things in the world.
I’m still floored that we were able to put this event together in just 3 months while keeping the Nathalie Lussier Media ship running, so today’s topic is definitely something I can speak on.
How To Get More Done In a Day Without Overwhelm
My 7 Tips For How To Get More Done In a Day
I’m going to share with you the simple steps that I take to get more stuff done without feeling overwhelmed.
1. Write down your 3 most important things for the day. Bonus points if you’re using a beautiful Whitney English strategic day planner. Whitney sent some of these beauties to us for our sponsored gifts at Off The Charts, and I loved them so much I ordered one for myself.
2. Do one of those things at a time and reduce distractions. Multi-tasking is not all it’s cracked up to be, it just slows you down. If you need a break, don’t surf social media – instead take a walk, a nap, or stretch.
3. Break big projects down into do-able bite sized chunks. There’s nothing like looking at a huge mountain you need to climb to make you want to turn around… instead, focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
4. Close the loops: if there’s something on your mind, write it down and get back to it later, or if it’s quick handle it now. If you get a new idea for a blog post, write it down in your Life Is Messy planner. Did I mention that the lovely Mayi Carles sent some goodies to give away at our event too? Incredibly useful, adorable, and so smart!
5. Consider your bandwidth – you can get a lot more done if you’re doing less.
This may seem counter-intuitive at first, but focusing on one project at a time will absolutely help you get more done in a day. Having too many projects going on at once can reduce your capacity to get work done.
Think of a highway: it’s fine when there are just a few cars, but once you had a bunch of cars, things really slow down.
It’s the same for projects and todo items, even if you’re not working on them concurrently you’re still thinking about them.
That’s why I love my big wall calendars, because I can dedicate months out of my year to certain projects and keep others open.
6. Leave breadcrumbs for yourself. Sometimes you need to do research to figure out how to do something, or you end up getting sidetracked on a project.
Write down what you were originally going to do before you dive into these sub-tasks. These breadcrumbs will guide you back to your original purpose, without making you feel disoriented and confused. You can then get back into the groove that much faster, and get it crossed off your to-do list!
7. Take time away from it all to decompress and rest. A little R&R goes a long way toward helping you achieve your goals and stay productive.
I recently read an article about the so-called benefits of being a workaholic… but I have to say that I wouldn’t be proud of working 70+ hours per week, because that pace is not sustainable or healthy. Stick to a more balanced approach to work, and you’ll feel much better and have more energy to contribute to your business, too.
When you ask yourself how to get more done in a day… what’s your best strategy?
I’d love to hear about your experience with getting more done without getting overwhelmed. Leave a comment below, I love hearing from you!
