How to Get Things Done: The Daily Five

Getting things done in your business

Do you feel like there's just NOT ENOUGH TIME in the day to get all of your business tasks done? I understand how frustrating that can be, so I want to introduce you to my Daily 5 concept:

1. Look at your to-do list. As scary as it might be, this is where your Daily 5 will come from.
2. Choose five things that can be done in an hour's time. It could be making phone calls, sending emails, shooting a video, checking inventory, watching those saved YouTube and Facebook videos, scheduling social media posts for the rest of the day or for the next day -- possibilities are endless!
3. Do those five things! Time yourself if need be to see how you did with only spending one hour doing those things. If you know it takes you more than one hour to do those five things, you know not to choose them the next time. It’s just like doing homework as a kid. You did the quick assignments first so that you had more time on the ones that took the longest. The same rule applies here.
4. Celebrate the fact that, if you get nothing else done, you have done those five things! Things might happen to where you aren’t able to get anything else done and that’s okay! However, rest in the fact that you were able to get SOMETHING done and have five fewer things to tackle that day or for the rest of the week.
5. Repeat the process as many times as necessary! Now that you have a better grasp as to how long each. If that happens, look at your list again, choose five more things, set a timer for one hour, and see what else you can get done before that timer goes off.

Taking advantage of downtimes

The second component here is learning to recognize and use downtime!

• The time when you're waiting at the doctor's office
• Waiting in the carpool line or at the bus stop
• Waiting in line
• Waiting to get your hair done or cut -- things like that.

I had a client who made a sizable commission as a car salesman simply because he used the time between innings to check his email!

He had a car inquiry, reached out to the person, set up the meeting for the next morning, sold the car, and earned the commission -- all in 1-3 minutes!

Use this time to listen to...

• Audiobooks
• Motivational and inspirational YouTube videos
• Webinars, etc.

Taking those few minutes to do something for your business can save you in the long run.

Learning to delegate

The third component is building a team and learning how to delegate.

• Find people know how to do what you’re trying to get done, let them do it, and don’t micromanage them.
• Let them do what they know how to do and worry about the five things that you chose as yours to do!

I will give you one major tip here: Don’t count your family out as help! Many times, we as business owners pay hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars for something that a teenager in our family knows how to do.

Take a moment and do a for real Family Skill Check! Find out what your family can do to help you knock that to-do list down to size so that you can move forward with your awesomeness.

Understanding your limitations

The fourth component is understanding your limitations. You cannot be your own be all end all…it’s just not possible.

That is why I use the Daily 5 method. There will come a time when you will need help in order to get it all done. Trying to be a one business owner show can work for somethings, yet the time will come where you’re looking around for those who can help you serve your audience and serve them well.

Asking for help is one of the biggest challenges that the modern-day business owner has, especially when it comes to approaching their competition!

Bartering is an essential skill in today’s business world and it is one that few in business use. Why? It’s because we are too caught up in thinking that everyone who wants to collaborate with us is a thief.

NOPE! That just means that you need to do your homework before you go to them. The person you’re scared to approach might serve the clientele that you cannot and vice versa. It’s important to know that kind of stuff because you could be leaving money on the table simply because you won’t open your mouth, move your feet, and network!

I will leave you with 7 Guiding Questions to ask as you prepare to choose your Daily 5:

1. Who?
2. What?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. Why?
6. How?
7. How much?

Use these questions for as many items on your list as you can to help you choose! GO!