When the day runs out and there are still things to do…OYO
For most of us, the day ends and there are still things to do. Things to do for you, things for your family and things for your business.
We all have too much to do and too little time to do it. If you don’t make enough progress, look out because in walks “overwhelm”. You have too many unfinished projects. You have too many people needing your help and your time. As overwhelm increases your stress levels go up and your productivity goes down.
Today, you’ll learn a simple solution. It works quickly and effectively to remove overwhelm, decrease stress levels and increase productivity.
It’s called OYO…
OYO stands for Organize Your Overwhelm.
It starts with a Mind Dump
The first step is to Mind Dump everything that’s in your mind and on your plate. This could be done on your smartphone or by typing up a list on your iPad, laptop or desktop computer. I prefer the old school method of pen and paper. The physical act of writing it out begins to bring your brain to a better place.
Next, take a Little Break…
Once you get it all down, step two is to take a little break. Get up, walk around, get a drink of water, and perhaps take in a little exercise. Take a few deep breaths and let it all out physically.
Fast Pass with the 4 D’s
Step three is to organize the list. You make a fast pass through the list and each item gets processed into one of these categories:
Do it now – For something that takes 1 to 2 minutes. You simply do whatever that task is. It’s a great feeling to mark it off the list! It could be to add something to a list, a quick email, send a reminder to someone, set up an appointment with yourself.
Dive in – You decide the item is important so you schedule time in your calendar to work on it. I like to put a little “s” next to it for schedule. Keep moving through the list in a fast way.
Delegate – This is something that you can hand off to someone else to complete. I put a little “d” next to it for delegate.
Delete/Defer – For a thing that doesn’t matter right now – delete it or put it on the someday list. I cross this off the list and transfer to the someday list. If it’s not urgent, feel free to defer it.
Most of the things we defer
onto the someday list never have enough priority to be done. You can forget about it for now, because you made a decision to delete it or you have it saved on the someday list.
Keep Your Speed Up
It’s MOST important that you pass through the list fast – don’t get caught up on one thing. If you start working on something for more than a minute or two put an “s” by it to schedule some time later to dive into it. A fast pass through the list will dramatically lower your overwhelm feelings. You will feel the sense of accomplishment as you blast through the list crossing out the “Do it Now’s” and the “Deletes/Defers”. You will be happier with the smaller “s” and “d” list.
Schedule up Your “s” and Name Your “d”
The last step is to schedule those items with the “s” next to them and determine to whom you are going to delegate each “d” item. Take out your calendar and schedule blocks of time for each item. If you feel your level of energy going up, take a moment to actually prioritize the list of “s” items so you are scheduling the most important ones first. Next, to each “d” item write the name of the person who can take ownership of that item.
When a task feels too big, break it down into smaller chunks. I like to say down to the doable. Break it to the point where you feel like – ok – I could do that piece. I could get that part done. Literally, it feels “doable”.
Fast Wins with OYO
As you Organize Your Overwhelm look for fast little wins. Follow-up on something with a quick email. Grab a list of calls you could make while on the road. Make an outline for a task you are working on. Write a quick rough draft of something you’re writing. Short fast wins bring a sense of finishing and progress. That helps to energize you.
No more overwhelm for you – now you know how OYO. Take a moment today and share OYO with someone else, the world could use less overwhelm.
Your results matter so get something done and make it a great day,
Blaine
Blaine Oelkers is a lifetime entrepreneur, a graduate of Purdue University and Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship program. He’s achieved over 100 Million dollars in sales and has coached 1000s of business owners. He’s America’s Chief Results Officer® (CRO) helping business owners and their companies get results. He can be reached at blaine@selfluence.com.
Blaine is America’s Chief Results Officer® and the world’s greatest creator of doneness. He knows your results matter and he can help you get better, faster and more long-lasting results. Get started with one simple and elegant results technique that activates your mind with your top goal over 100 times a day. He explains it in a short TEDx talk he did which has been viewed by over 120,000 people! Your results matter – get access immediately at www.BlaineTEDx.com