Where to Begin?

Lists, lists, and more lists. Where to begin? I’ve got to read up on this, and format that, all while researching another project, and that’s just the start. I need to tweet this, and post that. Update here, and reply there. Sound familiar? It probably does. Our day to day lives can get muddled and out of sorts at times. I know mine does. I’ll go from a highly productive day, to a day that is scattered and un-organized where it seems that I accomplish next to nothing.

Prioritize is your only answer. In a effort to clear away your mental desk quickly and efficiently I’v got a quick list to help put things back in order.

1. Breathe: Clear your head for a second and don’t think about any of the work ahead of you.
2. Make a Master List: Don’t include all the little things like lunch, but just the items that will get you fired if you don’t do them.
3. Refine That List: What are the most important things on the master list? What items will take the longest to do, or the shortest to do? Decide which you need to knock out first.
4. Keep the List Short: What we are looking for is, a list of items that you can take care of today. A short list will help keep it all manageable. If you finish early then default to your next most important item on the master list. Finishing a list, no matter how large or small, will help you keep your morale up.
5. Music: this works for some, and it does me. I keep a wide variety of music on hand, from Debussy to The Clash. Today I’m playing The Pogues, The Chieftains, and Albannach. Play what fits your mood, but not too loud. You want this to be in the background, something that helps you set your rhythm.
6. Turn Off: Close your browser tabs. Get off Facebook, and close your Twitter client.
7. Do It: This is it. You’ve relaxed. You have a manageable list. You’ve eliminated your distractions. Time to get down to it.

The biggest factor here is that, when it all gets overwhelming, step back, reorganize, and just get it done. It’s time like these that I think of a post by Jeremy Floyd in his blog, Between You and Me, about a surfer braving the tides. Ya’ just gotta lean into it.