3 Ways to Get It All Done

What must get done, will get done. We know that. Kids get fed, husbands get clean socks, the mortgage gets paid because these things must be done. But, when you've had a crazy day, have not sat down till after lunch, have been beset from all sides, put out fires, making sure those necessary things get done and your husband comes home and asks, "So, what did you do today?" and you feel the only answer is, "Nothing" -- something's got to change.

If the things that must be done do get done and you still don't feel productive, then you need to make a point of doing the things that don't need to get done -- the Important things.

Stephen Covey took one of his 7 Habits of Highly Successful People and expounded on it in the book, First Things First. He divides our tasks into categories based on Urgency and Importance. Most of our lives are caught up in things that are Urgent with varying degrees of Importance and taking forays into Non-urgent, Unimportant activities like surfing the Internet or polishing the silver in August when there are no weddings or holidays to prepare for. Your most productive time, though, will be spent in activities that are Non-Urgent, but are Important -- things that improve relationships, refresh and strengthen you or develop your roles.

The first things everyone needs to do Covey calls "Sharpening the Saw." These are your Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and Social areas of your life that need refreshment, to strengthen you and fill up your gas tank. An example of a weekly list of these for me would be:

Physical -- Exercise 5 4 3 2 1 times. [I cross out a number each time I do it]
Spiritual -- Finish week 1 of Armor of God study
Mental -- Read "Sherlock Holmes"
Social -- Call Jen Tuesday

The next step is to identify your roles. For me, this is Wife, Mother, Christian, and Writer. I used to divide my roles into more categories, but I realized that all my roles at church fit into Christian and I didn't have to work on all of those roles every week: I'd just get overwhelmed. So, here is an example of my Roles list:

Wife -- Talk to Steve about that thing. [You don't need to know what it was]
Mother -- Exercise with Anna 5 4 3 2 1 times [notice how I doubled this up with my personal exercise time?]
Christian: Meeting with Becki about Cowboy Camp in 6 months
Writer: Write blog on First Things First

When I use this weekly guide as my to-do list, the Urgent things get done -- because they have to, right? -- but, sometimes in a more timely fashion than they would otherwise, and I get the Important things done, that wouldn't get done if I hadn't written them down. And, I feel satisfied that I have been productive.

So, 1) Identify your roles, 2) write a to-do list every week of Important, Non-Urgent things that improve your relationships or what Covey calls your "Production Capacity" and 3) do them! But, don't sweat it if something doesn't get done. You already got more done than you did last week!