We all have days where we find ourselves staring at the computer screen for hours and at the end of the day feeling like we got nothing accomplished (except for catching up on our Facebook and Twitter feeds).
This is an awful feeling.
Instead of commiserating on the lost time, make tomorrow a bit more manageable and successful by implementing these two habits:
Write out 5 goals for tomorrow
Start out by making a short list of the top 5 things you want to accomplish tomorrow. Make the goals specific and descriptive.
Here are some examples:
- Instead of “Email”, change the task to “Respond to respond to Mark, Re: quarterly budget meeting”
- Instead of “Follow ups”, use “Follow up with Greg, Re: outstanding proposal”
- Instead of “Agenda”, use “Create first draft of meeting agenda”
This makes each task very finite and easy to accomplish. If you have “respond to all emails” as the goal, you’ll likely not get through it or spend the whole day just doing that one task.
I use Trello to manage my daily tasks. It’s a great online tool for quickly keeping things organized without taking much time to setup.
Time block your day
Setting aside specific time to work on goals and tasks helps stay focused and remove distractions. If tomorrow you want to make cold calls, revise the marketing graphics, follow up on customer inquiries, and have lunch with a networking group: put it in your calendar.
Time blocking helps you hold yourself accountable and allows you to move on from one task should it get time consuming.
Do this today before you head home or before you go to bed tonight. It will free your thoughts from trying to remember what you need to do tomorrow (and hopefully get a better night’s sleep!).