Tackle Your Biggest Project First

What is it that always finds you procrastinating? What projects or business systems, operations or tasks do you most avoid doing on a day to day basis? Have you even put something off so long that there wasn't even a need to complete the task any longer? Did you miss a money making opportunity as a result?



Why do small business owners spend more time fretting about a task then it would actually take them to dig in and complete the task at hand? My kids used to do this when they were in grade school. I'd have them whine and moan about a project - but once they dug into it and got going, we'd often find that it took them less time to complete it then the time they spent whining about it.



My challenge to you is to dig into your largest project first!  This approach works -- it helps me avoid procrastination too!  Stop and think about your largest project on your "to do" list right now. I bet if you looked at your entire list, the item that is the most important for you to handle right now is probably the one with the greatest return opportunity. All of those little items on your list are just not as valuable to your business right now. So, why do we spend so much time focused on the easy tasks, using valuable time that could be spent on our most important and valuable tasks?



Rethink the way you spend your time. Instead of beginning your day with the easiest tasks first start with the most challenging, devote a block of focused and dedicated time to it and get it done. This is a great way to start your day as it will give you the feeling of accomplishment and even give you more confidence and empowerment for the entire day. Tackling your largest task first sets you up for success all day long.



Clients also tell me that their "to do" lists are just too long to even think about being able to complete in a reasonable amount of time. Here I suggest clients look very critically at their list and decide which tasks can be delegated. Which daily or weekly tasks can you systematize so that they can be easily reproduced and done by someone else? These are the tasks that are not immediately money producing and are the tasks that don't need to be personally handled by you. Freeing up some time in your day will make facing the larger tasks more manageable if you do not feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions.





Find more information about us at our web site, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.