Recently, I have had several executive coaching conversations with business leaders who have complained that they weren’t accomplishing enough. One leader felt as if she would never get through her “to do” list. But as the conversation progressed she was able to list out many things that she had accomplished, yet an item was always followed by a “but”, totally negating the previous accomplishment in her mind.
Does this scenario sound familiar to you? At the end of a long week, do you feel as if the week flew by and you didn’t accomplish what you had wanted?
Here are a few simple steps to break this self-defeating cycle.
- Delegate: your list of tasks. What HAS to be done by you and what can you delegate to those around you? Then delegate tasks.
- Prioritize: Now look at the remaining tasks on the list. What is really important versus what is urgent? How long has each task been on your list? Identify the important top three tasks and focus on these items first. Always tackle the important, most impactful items first.
- Eliminate Roadblocks: If there is a task that has been on the list longer than a month, why is it still there? What is holding you back? Who can help you get past the roadblocks?
- Recognize Accomplishments: And finally, at the end of each week write down those accomplishments and successes, however small, that you can claim victory on. Remember that like a small stream that leads into a large river, small accomplishments lead to much larger ones!
Take some time today to incorporate this process into your week, and stop beating yourself up!
Image Credit: The Stock Exchange (www.sxc.hu) User: fanginhoon
