PP 155: Stop Worrying About Getting Everything Done!

Last night I was having a conversation with a new mom of twins that I met through a Facebook group who is also a podcaster. During the conversation, she asked me, “What secrets do you have for getting everything done?“

My response to her was Positive Productivity isn’t about perfection, but it is about admitting that we can’t do everything.

Friends, my house is a wreck. I don’t cook all my meals and my laundry is most often in the laundry baskets until it is put on somebody to wear.

My inbox is not always at a zero, and my task list, if I wrote everything on it, would be 10 miles long.

However, a big part of my personal and professional journey this past year, has been realizing that I cannot do everything myself. And furthermore, I can’t do everything.

Stop Worrying About Getting Everything Done!

If you’re stressed out trying to get everything done all the time, it’s time to take a step back and decide what the true priorities are.

Do you really need to tackle everything on the list? Is there anything that can be pushed to the last page in your notebook and potentially forgotten about?

And, if you don’t do those items, what will actually happen to you or your business? Is it going to crumble? Or is it going to be just fine? If your personal or professional life can keep on going, if those items are ignored for right now, then set them aside.

With those set aside, look at the rest of your list. What items do not have to be performed directly by you? Are there tasks that you can outsource, such as housekeeping, lawn work, any tasks within your business? If so, start looking into your options.

Stop Worrying About Getting Everything Done!

Just last night, I finally got myself back on board with my podcast editor. And it’s embarrassing to tell you all how much time I was spending editing my own podcast for the last three months. But now, knowing that the big task of editing my podcasts is off my plate, I have so much peace and I know that there is so much other greatness that I can be filling that time with, including even a nap.

Last, I want you to look at the items that only you can be doing. What’s the number one, number two, number three priority items on that list? Put those at the top of a sheet of paper and set the rest aside for a future date.

Now, when I say your number one, your number two, and your number three priorities. I don’t mean a huge project, I mean a specific task. So, if any of those are projects, I want you to start breaking down the project into individual tasks. And then look at those tasks with the same priorities and metrics as I already discussed.

What can be set aside for a much future date? If it even needs to get done? What can be delegated? And what needs to be done by you?

If your number one and number two and number three priorities wee all projects, pick one of those projects, get it done. Get it out the door, and then move on to the next one.

You will not believe how much peace of mind you will have, and how big of a sense of accomplishment you’ll feel when you get that one project out the door.

Don’t feel like you have to do everything. And especially don’t feel like you have to do everything right now. We are all human, and we are all perfectly imperfect. We cannot do everything.

So, find that one task that only you can do and is your highest priority right now and get that one tasks done.

With that said, go forth and have a positive and productive day.