Top 3 Ways to Avoid Task Overwhelm

When it comes to leading your organization, managing your time is mission critical in order to ensure that you hit key milestones and keep your executive teams on track. For many CEOs, planning each day can seem like an insurmountable task, overrun with long to-do lists that can spark anxiety. That’s why it’s important to spend time before each week starts to identify the most important deliverables to be accomplished that following week. The most successful CEOs also dedicate the first 30 minutes of their day mapping out what essential tasks need to be completed before the days end, keeping them on track and focused on the task that will produce the greatest results. Otherwise, by not taking this important time in the morning, it’s not uncommon for a small task to drain your energy, time, and resources in a day. 

Here are the top three ways to effectively plan your day, so that you remain in control, clear on exactly what needs to be achieved, and can take the appropriate steps to get things done effectively and efficiently.

1. Start with breaks. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s important to be able to pace yourself throughout the day to ensure that you have the mental clarity and emotional focus to be able to complete the tasks on your agenda. CEO peer group consultants generally recommend taking a 15-minute break at least once every two hours. This break could either be spent taking a quick walk, listening to something inspirational, or simply grabbing a snack to fuel your body. When we don’t build in breaks into our schedule this can contribute to burn out, lack of clarity, and an overall work schedule that can easily overrun our self-care routines.
2. Be selective with what you accept. Oftentimes as the leader of your organization, you feel an obligation to be able to satisfy every request that is asked of you. Not only is this not sustainable to be able to achieve the tasks that you have set forth for each day, but by not setting boundaries you are putting yourself on a dangerous trajectory toward burnout. That’s why it’s important to selectively choose which tasks, meetings, and situations you will allow to take up your time. 
3. Create your own deadlines. How often have you set a goal or task to do, only to have it fall to the wayside? Being able to hold yourself accountable is a key characteristic of the most successful leaders in the world. By setting your own deadlines for strategic tasks that can move your company forward will enable you to stay on track with the most important revenue-generating components of your business. As with any deadline, do your best to adhere to it as closely as possible.

These are just three time management strategies you can use to better take control of your day, even when it seems like you have so much to accomplish and so little time. Leveraging the expertise and support of a CEO peer group could also be helpful and giving you additional tactics to use to make the most of your time in the office every day. If you’re open to exploring incredible professional development opportunities to enhance your leadership skills, we invite you to apply to the brain trust CEO program. Click here to learn and see if it may be a right fit for you.