Let’s talk about the dreaded to-do list—you know the one!
As a business owner there always seems to be something else to do –send the email, design the graphic, take the discovery call, book the service, etc. It can get overwhelming.
And if I’m not careful, the to-do list can start to feel, well… impossible.
This blog post is to help you avoid that feeling.
Your to-do list should empower you rather than discourage you. So here are five ways to tackle your to-do list and make it serve your needs. I hope these simple tips make your workflow more efficient.
Table of Contents
1. Get Organized with the Right Tool
The most overwhelming to-do list is the one still inside your head. Put it on paper or transfer it to a digital platform to free up space in your mind.
If you don’t have a project management system in place yet, I recommend this as your first step toward organization.
Davey and I use ClickUp to plan and organize all of our content. Actually, our entire team uses it to organize the various tasks we have across our teams. ClickUp helps us stay organized so we know what is due, when it is due, and who needs to complete the associated tasks.
If you’re a business owner, you’ll especially enjoy it for organizing your to-do list! We appreciate how easily we can keep track of blog posts, social media content, podcast topics, etc. Our favorite feature? The ability to tag someone and notify them on any project—it makes communication clear and direct.
I also love TeuxDeux – an organizational app that is clean, calming, and simple for my daily tasks. It gives you the satisfaction of crossing items off each day and it even allows you to set recurring tasks. If you don’t get to a task for the day, it shifts automatically to the next day (without giving you an angry red message letting you know you missed said task.)
TeuxDeux is the one tool in our business that has stood the test of time. Davey and I have both used it for probably almost a decade at this point. It’s super simple—and that’s the genius of it. It’s a great place to consolidate our personal and professional to-do’s into a single list.
If you prefer working with paper and pen, you may prefer a planner by Appointed Co. Our team loves the quality of their planners and the streamlined layout.
Related: The Best Content Marketing Tools for 2024
Once you have a method for laying out your to-do list, prioritize it in order of importance.
At the start of each day, focus on the most important tasks first, when your energy is highest. I find that my energy falls in the afternoon, so I usually move simpler tasks to the end of my list.
Related: Productivity + Energy Hacks We’re Loving Right Now
2. Carve out Breaks
If you’re like me, it’s easy to want to keep pushing all day. But this is actually negative for productivity. Instead, I’d recommend working in 45-minute sprints.
Break up your work hours with less focused tasks or, if you work from home, tasks like laundry. Sometimes I take a few minutes to go on a walk, garden outside, or check on my sourdough bread (yes, I finally jumped on the trend! Better late than never, right?).
It is also important to create breaks in your week. If you work with a team, group meetings together whenever possible and try to have days without any meetings for deep work.
It’s challenging to knock out a to-do list when meetings interrupt your workflow.
If you feel like you’re in work burnout and the to-do list is pushing you to the end of your rope, it might be time to take an extended break. Davey and I needed to do this a few summers back. Our business motivation was fading, and we needed rest before we could jump back into our business with fresh ideas.
Don’t hesitate to carve out the time you need to refill and refresh. If you’re in this boat, you may enjoy listening to this episode with mindset coach Brad Bizjack, How to Shift Your Mindset.
3. Create your Environment
Where and when you knock out your to-do list is just as important as how. You need to create an environment that fosters productivity.
My ideal work environment includes natural lighting, a comfortable chair or couch, a clean space, and lovely color paintings around me.
Davey, on the other hand, prefers bright lighting, his standing desk with all the gadgets, books, and a whiteboard with a marker in case he needs to jot down an idea.
Brainstorm your ideal work environment.
Is it a coffee shop with people bustling around you? Do you prefer a cozy corner in your home? Perhaps a candle needs to be lit or a soundtrack playing in the background to keep your focus.
One of our team’s designers, Sam, listens to the War & Peace BBC soundtrack by Martin Phipps whenever he is designing. He says it helps him focus.
The time of day is also important to knocking out your to-do list.
Davey and I both work well in the mornings, so we organize our day so that we begin work at 5:30 a.m. This allows us to finish tasks by the time the boys are home from school at 3 p.m.
In comparison, Sara, another designer on our team, is a night owl. She often begins work at 10 p.m. and will work well into the morning hours.
By understanding where and when you work best, you’ll be able to structure your day to achieve more success!
4. Streamline Long Tasks
We all have tasks on our to-do list that we don’t enjoy. These dreaded tasks can bog down our day or get pushed to the bottom of our list.
One of the best ways to prevent procrastination on daunting tasks is to recognize they are challenging and then look for solutions to make them simpler.
Here are a few ways to streamline tasks that may bog you down.
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Email Templates
If you struggle to send emails to your clients, a visual outline that is aesthetic and matches your brand can help kickstart the writing flow. Look for templates that help you get over the hump and get you excited to complete this task. Here’s a look at a few templates we designed for your emails.
Writing Outline
Do you get stuck on tasks that involve writing? We put together a Free SEO Outline to help you get focused during the content research process. This will make writing blog posts so much easier and can speed up your writing workflow.
Download: Our Free SEO Content Outline Template
Social Media Templates
One of the most challenging aspects of running a business can be organizing and managing the content. Having the right tools can streamline your content-sharing process, making it more organized, efficient, and impactful.
If you need help with marketing, we’ve put together a suite of Canva social graphics for you.
Related: Our Favorite Tools for Designers
Customer Guides
If you spend a lot of time talking with your clients and get sidetracked from the tasks at hand, implement a client guide. Depending on your industry and current process, you may want to explore the following:
- Album Sales Guide
- Client Communication Guide
- Pricing Guide
- Engagement Guide
- Wedding Guide
- Portrait Session Guide
5. Hold Things Loosely: Count Your Wins
You likely won’t get through your to-do list in a full day. That’s okay.
We identify three wins at the end of each day. It’s an important daily “cash-out” routine that helps us focus on the gain, or progress, that we’ve made each day. And it’s something we do everyday regardless of how we feel about how that day went.
I treat my to-do list more like a general list of things I want to do than things that must get done each day. That’s why I love TeuxDeux, which I mentioned above. It keeps things organized but simple, so I don’t get overwhelmed with the details of each task.
If you don’t get to something, allow your tasks to roll over into the next day. I recently heard someone say that everyone will die with a “to-do list.”
Life is full. It’s so much bigger than a checklist. Enjoy it and remember that the to-do list is meant to serve you…not the other way around.
Conclusion
Hopefully these five tips helped empower you to tackle your to-do list and streamline your workflow.
As a business owner, you have many tasks. But ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ so don’t worry—your business doesn’t have to be either.
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