Too Many Things to Do? Seven Great Tips to Get Things Done!

"Don’t count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count.”~Unknown

Let me first thank you for participating in the survey. If you haven't yet, you may still take part by clicking here. .
Too many things to do in life? 24 hours is not enough? You wish there were 48 hours in a day?

50% of the people surveyed so far say that "too many things to do" is something they struggle with. There's always something going on in life and that's understandable.
Here are SEVEN great tips to get things done…

1. Create a task list. Create a monthly task list, weekly task list or a daily task list and make sure the list is easily accessible. Don’t carry them in your head. Make it a point to put them on paper (diary, stick it notes, computer, task list etc) daily. Whether it's early in the morning or before you go to bed. Once you put them on paper, they're no longer swimming wildly in your head adding to the clutter and overwhelm. Don’t overload your head with things to do or with reminders to do them.

2. Follow the 4D strategy. Once you have them on paper, follow the famous David Allen's 4D strategy - just do ONE of the following.
• Do them
• Delegate them or outsource them
• Drop them
• Defer them

• Release the Inner Control Freak. What's the inner control freak? It's that voice in your head that says nobody can do it better than you do something. You have to be in control, you have to be in charge. Others are there to mess up things. You can't really trust anyone. What happens? You take everything upon yourself and you don’t get around to finishing the tasks. Doesn't add much to your confidence and ends up draining your energy. Let go of the inner control freak. Do what you do best! Outsource the rest to the experts.
I know it's hard sometimes to let go of the ICF. How I struggle with it myself at times! Ask yourself, what's more important, your peace of mind and happiness or your need to be right?
• Erase "there's not enough time". "There's not enough time" is a taped voice that keeps running in your mind causing great mental fatigue! There're only 24 hours in a day and that's not going to change. So, change the taped voice to something positive and energizing. Erase it and record in it's stead, for e.g., "I finish all my tasks on time efficiently and effectively,", "I love what I do,", "I've plenty of time to do what I wish". Come on, use your creativity!
• Eliminate the energy drainers. Don’t monitor the time, monitor your energy. There's only 24 hours in a day and that's not going to change. When your energy is low, you are less engaged in the task at hand. You don’t get an efficient or effective job done of it. You're not satisfied with your work and it adds to the mental fatigue. Eliminate these energy drainers and you'll be surprised how much time and energy you save and create.
• Maintain high energy. What's in your control is your inner energy. Keep your energy high and you'll get a lot of things done. It won't seem like work either. Here are simple things one can do to keep the energy high. Some of them may sound like basics, but they are very powerful. Check them out for yourself.
a. Maintain correct posture to allow universal life energy to flow through your energy system freely
b. Breathe in deeply - yes, breathe in deeply with the help of your abdomen and diaphragm. There's plenty of oxygen in the atmosphere so don’t hold your breath or breathe shallowly.
c. Feed yourself on time and take time to eat and chew the food. A few extra minutes with a meal won't make you miss a deadline or create any crisis.
d. Surround yourself with positive energy - people, music, books, quotes, bright colors, pictures, photos of loved ones etc - so that you can tap into this positive source as soon as your energy starts dipping.
e. Exercise regularly. Physical exercise helps get rid of stagnant physical energy. Energy has to flow constantly - so make exercise a part of your routine.
f. Unwind before you go to bed. Set an intention to unwind and make it a daily ritual. Make peace with the day, you've done your best for the day. There's always a tomorrow and there's a lot you can get done. Worry, lack of sleep, fatigue don’t help in any way.
• Follow your heart and your intuition. Last but not the least of all the tips. This quote says everything I want to say.
“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary". ~Steve Jobs

• Make a list of energy drainers in your life. Energy drainers can be activities, situations or people. For e.g. incessant chatter/self-talk in the mind, worry, fear, activities that you think only you can do, people who are negative and who suck your energy etc
• How much energy (and time) would you save if you eliminated these energy drainers?
• What could you accomplish with all that energy (and time)?