Managing the never-ending tasks
everything is not urgent đ
âWe are so busy working to be efficient that we donât have the time to catch our breath and ask ourselves: Why? Why are these tasks on my list? Why do they need to be done? Why am I killing myself to do it all?
Productivity is not getting more doneâitâs focusing on what matters most.â
I have this tucked away in my notes because itâs one of those reminders I never want to lose sight of. I know the topic of productivity can sometimes feel clichĂ©, but most of the things weâve heard about it are true.
A while ago, I listened to a senior community leader talk about how she delivers value consistently in her work. And one thing she said was to focus on less so you can do more.
When I heard that, I stopped to assess myself to know if I was being productive or simply being busy. I realised that the latter was the case; I was not greatly productive, just busy.
Of course, there was this momentum of constantly ticking things off, responding to things, fixing things, touching a little here and there. And because I was always all over, it felt like productivity.
The Brain Dump Ritual
When I wake up and my head is already running across a thousand and one things I need to do, like deadlines, tasks, reminders, the random âoh donât forgetâ pile, I simply sit with a pen and paper and dump everything out.
Once itâs all out of my head and everything is now in front of me, it feels more manageable and from there, I start sorting. I pick out the things that matter most for that day; call them urgent and important.
My rule of thumb is to choose just 3 tasks Iâll focus on until theyâre done before moving to anything else.
Sometimes all three are urgent and important, and other times itâs a mix of âurgent nowâ and âimportant but not urgentâ. Everything else falls behind accordingly.
The interesting thing youâd find is that doing the important things first often makes the rest smaller, irrelevant, or already solved.
In community work, especially when youâre working directly with leadership, tasks get thrown at you constantly - âWe need to get this doneâ, âPlease look into thisâ, âCan we fix this today?â, âI have this ideaâ, etc
If youâre not careful, youâll spend your whole day bouncing between these requests and hardly making headway.
Iâve learned that;
Not every task thrown at you is urgent
Not every task needs your attention right then
And not every task is even your task đ
Sometimes the things that felt urgent during a meeting are things nobody will even review for the next five days đ
All Iâm saying isâŠ
When you contextualise tasks instead of trying to run through them as they come, you streamline your focus and you make a better impact with your work. Even if the one important task takes all day, you end your day with a sense of satisfaction because something meaningful was done.
When you focus on the right things, you show up better for your team, for the community, and for yourself.
Letâs talk about itâŠ
Are you team busy or team productive right now? đ Hit reply or drop a comment, Iâd love to hear from you.
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