To-do list or not to-do list?

There are a few ways you can figure out what you should be doing at any given point.

Schedule everything on your calendar. 

Or use your calendar for specific appointments and then work from some variation of a to-do list.

The benefit of mapping out your week using your calendar is that you get to make all of the decisions ahead of time...

...when you're clear-minded, and your priorities and goals are top of mind.

I map my week out on Monday mornings, and then I suit up for the game and follow my schedule all week.

I know I won't feel like doing about half of the things on my schedule when that time rolls around. 

And that's when I manage my mind.

Mapping out the week is relatively easy.

Managing your mind around doing things that you don't feel like doing is where the real work starts.

Because we aren't going to feel like doing the things we most need to do. Or we would have already done them.

That's why mapping out the week helps.

We get real freaking tricky when we don't want to do something.

We create busywork.

Charts. Excel documents. Networking. Research.

We feel productive, but we don't move the needle.

If you're using a to-do list, you'll naturally pick the things that you enjoy or don't require you to stretch outside of your comfort zone.

The things that you need to do to move the needle will get skipped until you feel motivated.

"Not now. I should probably _____________ instead." 

"Ugh, I don't even know where to start."

 "I should probably do more research before I even start."

 Your brain will do what it does. Make excuses.

 Friday will roll around, and those annoying projects that you keep procrastinating will still be on your list.

You'll feel like you worked hard all week and don't have that much to show.

Rinse and repeat.

It's possible to be productive using a to-do list, but you can be far more productive, mapping out your time.

You can decide ahead of the time the results you want to create that week.

Schedule the actions you have to take to create those results.

And then manage your mind when you don't feel like taking those actions.

Try it for a week. Be realistic when you map out your time: schedule breaks, travel time, unexpected urgency.

Challenge yourself to stretch out of your comfort zone.

Do it even when you don't feel doing it. Especially when you don't.

When you are ready to master the skill of mapping out your time and managing your mind, hit me up.

You can schedule your free call here 

Best,
Machele

Machele Galloway is a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. She's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and specializes in helping her clients manage their time and their minds. She firmly believes that you can't manage one without managing the other. She virtually coaches women nationwide. If she isn't coaching clients, she is studying concepts and techniques. And if she isn't doing that, she's probably playing with a dog or watching the Real Housewives of some city. - “Life is short. Play a little.”