Accomplish More on Your Marketing To-Do List with the 3 Ds: Do, Delegate, Ditch
You have a large project you’re working on, and your to-do list grows each day. You are committed to completing the work, but the idea of spending nights and weekends in front of the computer or buried in paperwork just doesn’t seem appealing. How can you tame your to-do list while ensuring your important work gets completed?
Does this scenario sound all too familiar? For many of us, having too many tasks on our to-do list is a common occurrence. One area of business where I feel I excel is in the ability to check a lot of boxes for our clients. Our team works with multiple clients at a time, and we are able to help each of them move projects forward, consistently and simultaneously.
In creating my daily, weekly, monthly and even annual to-lists, I use the 3 Ds to help me determine what I need to do, what I need to delegate to someone else who can complete the work, and what I need to ditch, or mark off of my list completely. Consider the questions below to help guide your to-do list pruning:
DO
Ask yourself these questions to see if a task is something you need to do:
Are you the only person with the skills needed to complete the task?
Do you have time to complete the task?
Are others waiting on you to complete this task so they can move forward with their work?
Does the task support your personal or business goals?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should plan to complete the task. If the answers are all a resounding “no,” it’s time to consider either delegating or ditching the work.
DELEGATE
Ask yourself these questions to see if a task is something you should delegate?
Is there someone else on your team with the skills needed to complete the task?
Is there someone else you could recruit to complete the task, like a volunteer or even an agency?
Will the energy and time resources needed to hand this project to someone else be worth the energy and time saved by you not completing it?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you can consider delegating the task. If the answers are all “no”, you may want to consider ditching the work.
DITCH
Ask yourself these questions to see if a task is something you should take off of your to-do list completely:
Will you regret not completing this task in the future?
Will others miss the resulting work if it is not completed?
Do you get enjoyment from completing this task?
If the answers remain “no” for these questions, pull out your favorite ink pen and mark that task off your list. If you answered “yes” to any of these, revisit the do and delegate options, as you may need to complete this yourself or with the help of someone else.
When using these questions to guide your work, you will find that your list begins to feel more manageable. We will share more ideas to help you clarify the important work on your marketing list to help you accomplish more in the coming weeks!