TOOLS: The 10 Minute Brain Dump!
Most Entrepreneurs are full of it! Well -full of creativity, ideas, potential! With all of those ideas for new things swirling in our heads, along with all of the things it takes to continue to market, sell, and deliver our products or services, our brains can get clogged! I'm sharing one of my favorite tools - the 10 minute Brain Dump!
I use this before starting any of my courses so that people can focus on being present and not worrying about their to-do's. I also use it whenever I'm feeling scattered and have too many to-do lists going on in multiple places - including swirling around in my brain! You can use this process either on paper (see form attached below) or my favorite is on the large whiteboard in my office.
Here is the process to organize your thoughts and tasks at the beginning of the week or each day.
1) Set a timer (10 minutes max)
2) DUMP: Write down everything in your head that you need to /want to get done that day/week (don't go farther out than a week in this exercise).
3) Organization tip: I have two businesses, so I draw a column down the middle and make one list for The Gift of Time and the other related to Success Magnified. Sometimes if I have a big project - I may make a 3rd column with its own set of tasks for that one too - like writing a book or launching a course.
4) Prioritize: When the timer goes off - go back through your list and prioritize your tasks. I encourage you to go through and place a $ by any task that will directly bring in money (sending an invoice, contract or proposal, calling a prospect, etc) then make those your priority #1! You are in business to make money - stop avoiding it. Then you can prioritize the remaining tasks by timeline - if you have a deadline attached to them or if they will help directly make you money. At the bottom of the order comes everything else!
5) Calendar It: Set a block of time on your calendar to get it done! Sometimes I will go through and add a date next to each item so I know when it needs to get done. Use your timer when you are working on each project and focus only on that task! If you have a lot of "someday I'll get to ... or I should be doing ...." at the bottom of your list, block an hour or two on your calendar - AFTER all money making tasks are complete, when you can put some strategy and critical thinking around those tasks.
I hope you find this tool helpful. Taking 10 minutes to get everything out of your head and into a prioritized list should help you be more productive!
This week, I encourage you to take a 10 Minute Brain Dump!
Stay safe, stay connected and stay grateful!
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