It’s time to stop just getting things done and start focusing on doing things that really matter. Isn’t it?

When I say this headline, people want to interject “But, But, But.” When I complete the sentence with “and start focusing on doing things that really matter,” they nod their heads.

For some people what I’ve said is a sanity check and they act like I’ve given them permission to think this way too. Other people are tormented because they just can’t find time to get to the things that really matter.

Have you ever had a very busy day but when you left your office or got home you can’t recall that you accomplished anything? You know you were busy. You know you weren’t goofing off. You’re tired enough that you know you worked very hard. But how did you spend your time? What got done?

It’s frustrating to draw a blank after a busy day. It’s very satisfying to be able to list off all the successes and accomplishments.

There’s a system to get to what really matters. There’s a difference between the company TODO list and your TODO list. As the business owner you manage your (virtual) team, clients, systems, goals and priorities. You have responsibility for everything. But that doesn’t mean you have to be the one to do everything.

When you make your own TODO list:

1. List everything that has to get done.
2. Identify the tasks/projects/goals/deadlines that matter most to the business success. Delegate everything that does NOT have to be done by you.
3. Make a second list of the remaining tasks that matter most in rank order of importance, tasks that can only be done by you.
4. When you start your day, always start on the most important task on your list. Not the quickest. Not the easiest. Not the one you’re stuck with because no one else likes to do it.

When you prioritize your activities this way, a couple things happen:

1. You’ll actually spend time on those things that matter most.
2. You’ll work smarter not harder and accomplish more in less time.
3. By focusing on what’s most important, the list of critical tasks/crisis/problems will diminish. By attending to the important things, they can’t slip to the extreme of becoming a crisis.
4. You can teach your team to do the same thing, making them more valuable to your business, giving you a higher ROI.
5. At the end of the day, you’ll know exactly what you accomplished and wind up with more free time at the end of the day.

Avoid Multitasking. Research shows that multitasking does not make us more productive, yet when we’re stressed, there is a temptation to conquer as much as we can at once.  It doesn’t serve us well.  Slow down. Take a deep breath, and focus on doing one thing at a time.