There are two types of people in this world – those who like lists and those who don’t.

This post is for those who don’t like lists

lists are boring

A list is only as boring as your imagination! You can and should put some fun things on there too as well as tasks to do.

I recently started putting things like “finish James Patterson book” on my weekend lists because all I was doing was chores. I loved the change so much that I now regularly put fun things like “phone _____ for a lovely, long chat” and “paint fingernails” on my lists just to jazz them up

lists are a bind because they have tons of items on them

Well, that depends on the type of list. A master list and a checklist often do have tons of things on them but a daily to-do list really should have no more than about 6 items.

I’ve shared before how when I only have 6 items on my to-do list, I get through them all easily but when I try to be SuperWoman and add lots more, I get even less than 6 done! I showed a coaching client my diary once and she was amazed.

When you find the right list, your life will change

No, no, no! The list is only the tool.

I used to subscribe to tons of productivity sites and really, many of them were all about the perfect tool. A tool is exactly that – something to help you get something else done.

Many people are so intent on creating the perfect list or finding the perfect planner that they get into an analysis paralysis mentality.

Because when you’re obsessing about the perfect to-do list, you stop actually doing the things on the list, right?

The truth is it doesn’t matter what you use as long as you get it down somewhere – whether on a post-it note, in a gorgeous notebook or in your phone.

So how am I doing with my lists?

I still use a weekly list and take off up to 6 items (sometimes a lot less) to do in a day.

My new  favourite thing is doing a mind-map list for my weekly planning. I do a spoke for each area of my life – husband, babies, house, work, business, health and fitness, etc. And then, off each spoke, I make new mini-branches with things I have to do.

Do you have any other beliefs about list-making?

Do you make lists? What works well for you?

P.S. There are some lovely lists (standard ones and mind maps) waiting for you in the free Organising Success Pack

We eat quite a bit of rice at home – in stir-fries, with curries, with chicken a la King, etc.

And lately I haven’t been enjoying the rice one bit.

Not because it’s rice but because somehow (can I blame this one on the twin pregnancy??) I’d forgotten how to cook rice properly.

And now I have to confess…

Hi, I’m Marcia and I can’t follow a recipe.

I promise I set out with really good intentions but before I’m three steps in, I somehow think I can do it better and before you know it, I’ve done a “version” of whatever the recipe is.

I will say that when I bake, I do follow the recipe exactly as I once heard Nigella say, “baking is like chemistry and you have to do things exactly so”. Or words to that effect

Anyway, back to the rice.

So last week, I literally had to steel myself to follow the directions on the pack to cook the rice I’d bought.

Do you know what happened?

The rice turned out PERFECTLY!

And I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken curry.

As I was cooking I thought about how this is so much like life.

We think we know everything and yet our lives run so much more smoothly when we get back to basics. Even though it’s a bit boring.

• making a menu plan
• planning our weeks and days
• making to-do lists
• going to gym (!)
• taking vitamins and eating healthy
• setting out our clothes the night before
• etc, etc.

How good are you at getting back to basics? Or at following a recipe?

What if you took just ONE tiny step closer to your goals every single day?

Just one.

It sounds harder than it is.

Honestly.

Let’s say your goal is to write a book.

Many people have this on their “things to do before I die” lists so I know this resonates with a lot of you.

It’s on my list too

What is the absolute first step?

Decide what to write about. This step looks simple but you need to see if people would read it, if publishing houses would buy it, if there’s a market so it will actually sell.

So maybe the first two weeks is spent checking all that out.

The rest of the month might be outlining the whole book – what do you need to cover, how many chapters? Etc, etc.

And then comes the writing. If I were coaching you, I’d make you write at least 5 minutes a day because writers WRITE.

To some, that seems like nothing much but 5 mins a day is 35 mins a week which is over 2 hours a month, at the very least.

And of course, some days just getting those 5 minutes done will be a miracle but other days, you’d spend 30 minutes or more easily writing.

That’s exactly what I mean when I say you can make big leaps with just a step a day.

People ask me how I get so many things done and it’s because I do exactly this.

Now I will confess I don’t always feel like writing or recording audio or _______ (fill in whatever you don’t like doing) but I do know that it will move me towards my goals.

So I have a rule.

EVERY WEEK, come hell or high water, I need to do AT LEAST one thing to move me towards my goals.

This helps me focus on outcomes even when I’m really busy. Busy with “stuff” means goals not achieved.

Think about one of your goals. Let’s say you want to go on a holiday to Ireland

Let’s break it down.

1. Decide exactly where in Ireland you want to visit.
2. Investigate prices of airfare, hotels, B&B’s, tourism, food, etc.
3. Check your savings account to see what you have available.
4. Based on the shortfall, decide on the amount of money you need to save every month.
5. Decide length of holiday and itinerary while there.
6. Book flights and check if you need a visa.
7. Book accommodation.
8. Book car rental/ decide on method of transport.
9. Pack your bags
10. Go!

Grab a piece of paper and write your own steps for your goal.

Your challenge this week is to take at least ONE step towards your goal this week.

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com/ for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.

You may think, as a time management expert, that I have a perfect life as far as time goes.

Wrong!

I’m human and in addition to being late sometimes, I’ve also had some major bloopers, like the time I missed my flight from Dublin.

We were travelling from Dublin back to Johannesburg via London. At Dublin airport, we missed check-in by 5 minutes even though we were in the queue on time.

I must confess that I broke down and SOBBED!

As a result, we had to take a later flight from Dublin to London… that landed at a different airport, Gatwick. Our taxi broke many speed limits getting us to Heathrow on time for check-in but again there was a mad rush to get us on the flight leaving for Johannesburg. It was like The Amazing Race as we ran through the airport terminal for 20 minutes, only worse, as we were also out of shape.

If memory serves me correctly, we were in the last batch of 4 people who managed to squeeze through the aircraft’s doors on time. What should have been a stopover of 7 hours turned into a second, nearly missed flight!

How on earth does this happen, you ask?

Well, let me share the 3 critical mistakes I made:

Not leaving enough buffer time for the number of people involved

The more people you have to accommodate, the more time you need. We had been staying with a friend who was also going away that weekend and we (mistakenly) assumed that he’d take the same amount of time to get ready as we did.

We usually leave enough time to get to the airport and then add on another 30 minutes’ buffer time. In this case, we should have added on an hour.

Assuming that things are the same on weekends

At the time there were major roadworks in Dublin. Our friend was used to the detours during the week but not over the weekend. On this particular weekend, the highway was worse than it was during the week. Maybe it was the best time to work on the roads, but not for all of us travellers.

Not planning for different cultures and/ or countries

In South Africa, I’d had many, many customer service interactions where I could talk and reason with the people and get my way. South Africa is known for hospitality, friendliness and helpfulness.

The ground staff at the Dublin airport were not having my logic (that we WERE in the queue on time) and didn’t care that we might miss our flight to South Africa and that it was the last one for a whole day. I even started crying from sheer frustration and those cold-hearted ladies didn’t budge an inch.

This whole experience cost a LOT of money (had to get new tickets and pay a taxi to take us 50 miles to the correct airport) and time with friends (with our Dublin friend as we had a very unsatisfactory, quick good-bye and we totally missed meeting up with another friend at Heathrow), and was really not worth the extra 30 minutes it would have taken to let things work out perfectly.

Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes because I can assure you, you NEVER want to go through an experience like that.

I flew internationally twice after that incident and both times left an extra TWO hours’ buffer time as I never, ever, ever want to go through that again!

Have you ever missed a flight? Share in the comments.

Want to use this article in your ezine or on your blog? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb.

Marcia Francois is a time management and organising coach who empowers small business owners and other busy professionals who want to make the most of their time. You’ll get simple, practical organising and time management secrets to help you work less and enjoy life more! Visit http://takechargesolutions.org for your free Organising Success Pack.

How would you like to start every day off on the right foot?

Wouldn’t you like to feel a sense of excitement as you start your day?

You CAN if you do something for just 5 minutes a day.

This is not some crazy statement – it really is true. I promise

If you spend 5 minutes every evening (or at the end of every day) planning the next day, your life will dramatically change.

So what do you need to do?

1. Grab a notebook or piece of paper

My Eat the Frog form works equally well.

The point is to have somewhere to capture your thoughts.

2. Ask yourself one of these important questions

* Which 3 – 5 things, when accomplished, will move me towards my goals?
* What is the best use of my time tomorrow?

3. Think effective, not busy

Busy means you’re doing LOTS of things. Effective means you’re doing the RIGHT things.

E.g. Yesterday, after I downloaded email, I had two choices – keep BUSY by reading newsletters and replying to all my blog comments & personal emails, or be EFFECTIVE by responding to a journalist who wants to interview me, and write my newsletter.

Guess which I chose to do?

4. Write down no more than 6 tasks

Mary Kay, one of the world’s most successful businesswomen, said that the secret of her success was to only tackle 6 tasks a day. If it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me

I actually showed a client my own planner a few weeks ago. When I think I’m Superwoman and put down more than 6 tasks, I never get them all done. But when I put 5 or 6 tasks on my list, I get them all done.

Did you know you can spend time with me in a Virtual Organising Session? I show you exactly how I set up my own systems and we go through all the computer and email tricks you could possibly imagine. *email me if you’re keen*

5. Number your tasks in terms of priority

Only now (in step 5) do you number them. Don’t try and number them before you get them down – you might get stuck in analysis paralysis

You’ll hit the ground running the next day when you start on number 1 and move through your list until you complete number 6.

At this point you can relax and enjoy your evening knowing that you’ll have a productive day the following day.

For many, many more tips, check out I need more time – guaranteed to give you another 5 – 10 hours a week.

Marcia Francois is a time management and business organising coach who helps small business owners make the most of their time. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for your free 7-part audio series, 7 tips for time-strapped business owners.