Millions of roles or things on your plate

How many times you do you find yourself thinking, “I have all these ideas, goals, and dreams I want to accomplish, but when will I have time? I have [INSERT YOUR LIST OF OTHER THINGS YOU NEED TO WORK ON].” To give you perspective and my background, I am:

• A wife

• A mother of 2

• A 9-5 employee

• Business owner (all under one LLC: ToastEcandy; Own direct business; Amazon; Etsy)

• Full time graduate student

• Author

• And. . .

I know that is not a million things, but I’m missing things like daughter, sister, auntie, friend, chef or nutrition coach (fancy way of saying I’m the cook for my family), travel coordinator (another fancy way of saying I plan all the intricate details of family trips), maid, and I’m pretty sure I’m missing more things. But I have a lot on my so called “life plate” and my to do list never seems to get shorter but longer as I think of more things that need to get done. The following are some tips and tricks that I’ve found to help me be more productive and get high priority items accomplished:

1. Bulk listing

This method is where you put your tasks into categories. For example, you have the following tasks you need to accomplish for the day: laundry, write a chapter in your novel, marketing and advertising for one of your products, meal prep, dishes, make phone calls (e.g. martial arts school, parents, siblings, landscaping company, manufacturer, and etc.), clean the bathrooms, vacuum the house, school assignments, mail out packages, budget, trip plans, and mop.

That is a lot to accomplish in one day on top of watching the kids, cooking, and somehow keeping my sanity intact. What I like to do, and I do this on a daily basis, is have three to four categories and then organize my tasks according to those categories. So, it would look like this:

Home

Laundry

Meal prep

Dishes

Call landscaping

Clean the bathrooms

Vacuum the house

Mop

Business

Write a chapter in your novel

Marketing and advertising for your product

Call manufacturer

Other

Meal prep

Call parents

Call siblings

Call martial arts school

School assignments

Mail packages

Budget

Trip plans

2. Priority items

This step is where I then figure out which tasks are high priority and need to get completed immediately. One criterion I like to use when reviewing my list is to ask myself, “which tasks are important that I will feel as though I’ve been productive for the day even if I didn’t get to the rest of the list?” Another way I like to look through my tasks is to know what time during the day do I find myself to be the most productive and I have the most energy. Lately, it has been around 10am and I have a high amount of energy, so usually I’m running around the house getting the tasks under “Home” completed. Then I will do tasks that are quick and easy like make the phone calls. I don’t know about you but I love the feeling of crossing the tasks when they are completed. Afterwards, I will then focus on the bigger tasks like the items for my business because in the long run, I have large projects that I want to get accomplished, so these smaller steps will add up to a complete project and keep me motivated to push forward.

3. Eye on the prize

Everyday I remind myself why I’m doing what I’m doing. Why do I bother to write a chapter? Why meal prep? These small steps, lead to larger aspirations. I have goals and dreams I am looking to accomplish within the next year, 5 years, 10 years and beyond. What I enjoy doing is the planning. I’ve had to learn how to act upon those plans and make the tasks into small, and achievable steps. When I think of what I am trying to accomplish, then these small daily tasks are more bearable.

4. Breathe, take a break

Sometimes you need to take a step back and just breathe. Have that hour or one day during the weekend where you just tune out. Recharging your mind, body, spiritual being or soul, is a necessity. This can help you push forward the rest of the day or the next day to tackle those tasks. I’m the type of person that I’m go, go, go. My husband sometimes has to tell me to sit down and rest because I will run myself ragged and not even realize it. I am totally useless to myself, my family, and my business if I’m exhausted and can’t think clearly or straight. So, take a moment and rest!

5. Similar People

You want to find people that inspire you. Whether that are friends that are positive, ambitious, and supportive or even YouTube vloggers that encourage and motivate you. One YouTube vlogger I love watching is Sundai Love who is currently living in Japan. For those that know me, I studied out in Japan and I loved it. When I discovered her YouTube channel she encourages people to act upon their dreams and not to wait. On top of all that, she shows her wonderful travels while living in Japan and running her business. And now during this pandemic where a lot of people were stuck in quarantine, I’ve discovered more friends who started their own business, are flourishing by being creative in their income generation and I love seeing it!

Conclusion

These steps are what allowed me to publish my first book, post more handmade products to my business, get the house more organized and cleaned, not go completely crazy during quarantine, and overall feel more accomplished. I hope you have found something that I’ve mentioned to be helpful and that you can take away and use. Otherwise, thank you very much for taking the time to read! Happy planning and achieving!