Getting tasks done

We all have days that things just don’t seem to get done and then there are the days that everything seems to get accomplished.

Lately I have been dealing with the days that things don’t seem to get done and then I realized why that was. I am working on some bigger projects that a day isn’t going show me the results that I have wanted to see. It has been a big challenge because I was starting to get down on myself for not getting things accomplished but then I realized that instead of just looking at the end result I needed to start looking at all the little bits of things that I have accomplished along the way.

Not every thing will work like this, but what I ended up doing was actually tracking some of the smaller things that I accomplished each day and then I started to feel a little better. Also I started to write down all the little things that needed my attention that I was trying to keep in my head. Being able to un-clutter the mind has also resulted in me feeling a lot better and I am seeing some results again. Of course, the big projects are still there but at least now that I am seeing even the smaller steps accomplished it makes me feel a lot better.

I think we all go through times where things just don’t seem to be moving forward and we forget about the small accomplished that have been reached along the way. For most projects there are the smaller accomplishments and they need to be noted when you start feeling like you are getting no where for a few days. The list that I keep isn’t very detailed but it is starting to show me that even when I feel like nothing is getting done I can see the few little steps that have been accomplished along the way.

There are always going to be things that take you away from the main task that you had on your agenda for the day but you need to realize that the other things also needed to get done. The getting the small things done are also important and knowing that they can get done and out of the way is also good. For us it can be a simple email or a text message that changes our day so knowing that even bits of some tasks are getting accomplished works well.

Getting the tasks done may not be something that is accomplished in a day but at least seeing that some progress has been made can really make a different. The tasks may have feel extremely overwhelming at some point but then you just need to look at them in the small pieces and you will feel better as you get each of the smaller pieces accomplished. Lots of pieces of paper to track some of the accomplishments will let you know that you are getting things done but maybe just not as quickly as you first thought.

Managing multiple tasks and/or roles

Now a days so many of us are doing multiple jobs or at least multiple tasks on an almost daily basis.

As a consultant most days I am managing the various tasks for the different clients as well as the tasks that I also have for our own business. There are a few things that I have found that work really well for me and that have been helping me keep everything in some sort of order or at least helping me manage everything.

Here are things that I have found that have helped me keep things organized or at least better organized.

1. 

   Coloured binders

   Coloured binders – these binders are based on a colour that I have selected for the various clients as well as for the our own company.
2. Coloured file folders – the file folders for each client matches the binder colour so that when everything is on my desk I can find what I am looking for based on the colour of the folder.
3. Multiple email address – having different email addresses for the various functions does help ensure that I can keep myself on track when I get busy. On my mobile device,  I have some email accounts that notify me when I get an email while other accounts don't, which are lower urgency that I will look at when I have time.
4. Calendar – having a calendar where I can put all the different appointments does help. Sometimes some of the appointments are simply just reminders of things that I need to get accomplished.
5. To do list – a detailed to-do-list is another thing that helps ensure that I can keep on top of all the different deadlines that I need to remember and deal with.

6. 

   Trusty notebook

   Notebook/journal – one notebook where I can make notes as ideas and thoughts come to me for the various tasks/projects really helps. It means that all the ideas are in one place instead of all over like they were in the past.

These are the things that help me manage all the different things that I am working on. Not everything will work for everyone but this is what I have found works for me.

Managing various projects and tasks sometimes does feel like I am just bouncing between everything but making sure that at the end of the day I can figure out what I did and what still needs to get done is always helpful. My to-do-list and notebook are always with me because that way I can ensure that I know where things stand and what else needs to be accomplished.
 

Find what works best for you and know that it can even change over time.

Juggling many projects

I think all of us have days where we sit and wonder what we really accomplished at the end of the day. There are also days that we can sit back and feel very good because we have had lots of accomplished during the day.

One challenge that I know I face some days is not being able to stay focused on one project. Yes it is the juggling the different things that I should be doing and doing a bit of everything instead of completing one task at a time. I think we all have days like that when just bouncing around between tasks seem to work better than staying focused. In the long run you end up getting all the tasks done but it is a slower way of doing them.

I know that I have my to-do-list that I keep and that is one way that I can try and start focused. My to-do-list is something that I try and keep up-to-date but there are times that even that doesn't get completed very quickly. The to-do-list can even sometimes get out of control because of the number of things that really should be on it.

One thing I have found that works when I am juggling many projects is to break down the projects into smaller tasks. Of course a lot of the tasks aren't very big but at least you can see that you are getting something done instead of feeling like you are getting nothing accomplished. The juggling of the multiple projects doesn't help in a lot of ways because each time you jump between projects you are spending time rethinking each of the tasks because of just working on one until it is done.

Now what I am going to attempt to do over the next couple of days is to focus on one project at a time and see if I am able to get things accomplished. The juggling will continue as I await for answers from other people but if a project is under my total control I am going to try and get one done at a time.