It’s easy to do and makes a lot of sense. A simple way to find things you need to do but often don’t. 

All you do is create a list of small tasks you can do when you don’t have a lot of time, energy, or motivation. Add labels or tags so you can find these tasks when you have a few minutes between appointments, for example, or when you’re tired and don’t want to do anything cognitively demanding.

This isn’t primarily for regular routines or for tasks you schedule in advance. It’s for the things that tend to fall through the cracks. 

When you have 5 or 10 minutes before your next appointment, call, or meeting, for example, you can jot down a few notes about an article you’re planning to write. In the afternoon, when you’re low on energy, you can read an article or watch a video for an upcoming project. 

I’ll bet your task app, or list, is filled with tasks that qualify. Find them, tag them, and do them when you the opportunity presents itself. 

Some people create tags for 5, 10, and 20 minutes. Or “energy” tags for “low, medium, and high”. Some people set up filters for combing time and energy, e.g., “10-minute low-energy” tasks or “5-minute tasks for the xyz project”. 

One benefit to these kinds of lists or filters is that they allow you to more easily bundle tasks, e.g., errands, chores, admin, or involving other people, so you can get them done in one go.

Having lists of tasks you can knock off when you’re tired or busy feels good and might stimulate you to get other things done. 

But I think one of the biggest benefits is that it allows you to create shorter lists devoted to your “most important” tasks each day, without the clutter or distraction of everything else you could do.,

Shorter lists of “must do” tasks allow you to focus and do them. After you do them, you can easily find other things to do.

So tell me, how much do you do on a typical day? How many tasks, appointments, or meetings? How many cases or projects do you work on? 

You want to do as much as possible, but you don’t want to burn out. 

You need a plan. 

Most people don’t plan effectively. They do the work that’s in front of them. They look at their calendar and task list, see what’s on deadline, think about their goals, and fill their day with as many tasks and appointments as possible. 

And end the day exhausted. 

They had a busy day. They got a lot done. But they aren’t running their business, their business is running them. 

If you ever feel that way about your practice, consider making a slight change. Instead of seeing what’s in front of you need to do each day, first decide how much you want to do. 

Pick a number. Not too much, not too few. Choose a number of “slots” to fill with work before you fill them.  

Slots first. Work second. 

Let’s say you choose 5 as the number of tasks you want to complete each day. That’s your upper limit. Maybe 2 or 3 are MITs (Most Important Tasks) and the others are less important. 

Whatever number you choose, it doesn’t include routine tasks you also do, such as clearing email, returning phone calls, and reviewing and signing routine letters and documents. 

A task is something that’s both important and takes a fair amount of time and energy to complete. More than a few minutes, anyway. In fact, you might specify that a task is anything that requires 30 minutes or more.

Of course, you can group small tasks, allocating 30 minutes for calls or for emails, for example. And yes, it’s a good idea to block out the time for this on your calendar. 

You can do the same thing with appointments and meetings. Decide in advance how many slots you allow each day. 

Maybe you allow yourself 2 tasks and 2 appointments each day. Or designate certain days for appointments, other days for tasks. 

The point isn’t how many tasks or appointment slots you choose, or when you do them. It’s that you decide how many slots in advance.

Planning this way keeps you from getting overwhelmed. You get your most important work done and have time and energy left to do anything else you choose to do. 

You run the practice instead of the other way around. 

As I’ve often mentioned, I plan my day the night before it begins, primarily because I like being able to start the day by getting to work. 

But I don’t get to work until I review the plan I made the night before. Just a minute or two, to double check everything. 

I might remember something I didn’t put on the list. Something important might have shown up in my email I need to address. My wife might remind me about something we need to do. Or I might realize I’m not ready to do something because I need to talk to someone, research something, or do something first. 

Plans change, after all. 

But there’s something else. Sometimes, I wake up, look at the list and realize that I’ve over-committed for the day. I overestimated how much I could accomplish and something has to go. Or there’s something on the list I don’t feel like doing that day. Unless there is a compelling reason why I must do it, I push it to another day. It’s my schedule, after all. 

It’s good to be king. 

Finally, once I’ve amended the list, I put things in the order in which I plan to do them. 

And then I get to work. 

Those two minutes in the morning make for a much more productive day.

Top athletes don’t train at the same level of intensity throughout the day. They front load their workouts, doing the heaviest parts earlier in the day, when they have the most energy.

They also front load their week, doing the most strenuous workouts Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, for example, and leaving the rest of the week for less intense parts of their training.  

This allows them to build muscle, speed, and endurance while getting sufficient rest so they can go at it again. 

We can work the same thing in our work.

The idea is simple. You start your day or week (or project) doing the most important tasks. This allows you to get started when you have more energy, so that if the rest of the day or the week you don’t work with the same intensity, or you work on tasks that are less important, you still make progress.

This doesn’t mean you need to start with the most disagreeable or difficult tasks, a la, Eat That Frog. Just start with your MITs, your “most important tasks”.

You don’t need to do them as soon as you roll out of bed. But when you’re ready to start your workday or a new week, you’re starting a new project or diving into a work-in-progress, do the most important tasks or steps first. 

When you structure your time this way, you make progress even if you don’t do that much with the rest of the day or the week. 

If you’re working on a new presentation, do the outline and first draft early in the day or week. Do the second draft, editing, and creating visuals later.

Many people do things just the opposite. They start their day doing easy tasks, to tick them off their list and make room to work on the important things. The problem with working this way is that we often run out of time and/or energy before getting to the important things.  

Front load your time by prioritizing the most important things on your list and doing them first.

Make that your SOP and, who knows, you might find that a four-day work week is your new reality.