How do you schedule your work, entrepreneurs?
Do you schedule out every minute and hour of the day on a calendar/planner, or do you simply add things to your to-do list? Perhaps you do a combination of both. If you want to get the most out of your time, then we suggest you drop the to-do list act altogether.
For one, to-do lists can be arbitrary, and they can get a bit overwhelming if the list starts to really pile up. Not to mention, they are confusing in the sense that one item could take longer than four other items. Of course, it does not feel or look that way on paper — more is typically more, after all.
If you want to get the most out of every minute and hour of the day, then start using an actual schedule because it is more useful for entrepreneurs than a to-do list, and we will be dishing out three reasons why.
3 Reasons Why An Actual Schedule Is More Useful For Entrepreneurs Than A To-Do List
- A To-Do List Is Not A Plan, It’s Just A List
- You Wouldn’t Treat Your Goals Like A List, Would You?
- We Tend To Forget Items On Our To-Do Lists, And Fail To Prioritize
A To-Do List Is Not A Plan, It’s Just A List
A to-do list doesn’t typically have dates or times attached to it, and a plan certainly isn’t in place. Sure, some people might get really technical and detailed with their to-do lists, but if that is the case, then it is essentially acting as a schedule impersonator, so why not just make a schedule?
It’s understandable if you don’t want a schedule to control your entire life. Because then you feel guilty if you aren’t doing exactly what your schedule says at a given time. That’s why you incorporate everything into your schedule, though, including that two-hour break you love to take between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. every weekday (or whenever and however long it might be).
As you likely already know, fellow entrepreneur, if you want to achieve a massive amount of success, you have to bring consistency into your life, and you also have to follow a plan/schedule every day. You don’t have to let a schedule control your entire life, but if you are trying to achieve all of your goals and dreams, then you have to get very serious and detailed when it comes to your time.
“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry A. Kissinger
You Wouldn’t Treat Your Goals Like A List, Would You?
The key to making your goals come true is to treat them differently than you would treat your dreams, right? Going along with that thinking, you need to actually attach deadlines next to your goals. You also need to create a plan. If you don’t, then life will happen, and you will revert back to your old habits and forget about your goals until later down the road.
Why would you treat your everyday tasks like that? Once again, you might get very detailed with your to-do lists, but if that is the case, then why not incorporate an all-star schedule? Why not keep track of all of your time? You are allowed to move things around and make adjustments — well, as long as you are still meeting deadlines and knocking out your top priorities, that is.
Simply writing down your goals on a piece of paper is not good enough. That is not creating a plan, and by doing only that, your goals become no different than your dreams. So, why would you treat your everyday tasks like that?
We Tend To Forget Items On Our To-Do Lists, And Fail To Prioritize
This is one of the biggest problems with to-do lists, especially if you are not the most motivated person of all-time/fail to check your to-do list over and over again.
People tend to forget items on their to-do lists. They keep adding things, it starts to become overwhelming and then tasks are forgotten. Not to mention, many people fail to prioritize when it comes to a to-do list, and that is a huge issue for the simple fact that if someone fails to prioritize, then there is a good chance that this same individual misses some deadlines.
If you are trying to get the most out of your time and take your success up a notch or two, then drop the to-do list and build an incredible schedule.
“As all entrepreneurs know, you live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.” – Jessica Jackley
Your time is invaluable. How are you going to spend it?
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