Frustrated Because To-Do List Tasks Take Too Long? Here's What To Do.
How many times have you said, I'm going to finish something in 30 minutes and it ends up taking all day long?
You end up completely frustrated with yourself, you blame it on yourself…
What if you had the magic secret to estimating how long all your tasks will take you so you don't have to feel behind and flustered ever again?
In this blog post, I'm going to give you the magic secret that you're looking for when it comes to estimating how long things will take for tasks in your business!
Become Aware
First, it's super important to just become aware of, is this problem is happening to you? Do things take way longer than you want them to? It's important to become aware of how you spend your time and what you end up spending your time on for estimating how long things will take you.
When you're not paying attention to how long writing that blog post, scheduling out content for your Instagram or Facebook, interacting with potential clients, then you will continue to be unrealistic about what you put on your to-do list, therefore your output in your business. Which is really the real reason you feel behind, scattered and overwhelmed.
Without becoming aware of how you spend your time, you're going to continue to think that you can send an email newsletter every single week, post every single day on Instagram and Facebook, still have time to polish your offer, attract clients AND do all the other things that actually make your business a business.
How to do that? I would say simple activity, get a time tracker app, get a piece of paper, get an Excel spreadsheet going, whatever fuels your fire. Just pay attention to how long things take you in your business for a week or two.
1.5-2X Rule
The next thing I want to ask you is, are you taking the time to estimate how long things will take you?
For example, a blog post, are you putting that into consideration when you are making a to-do list? OR are you flying by the seat of your pants thinking that you can finish eight things on your to-do list today when in reality, each of them takes HOURS to get done?
If you're saying Becca, I don't know how to estimate how long things will take me... That's why we go back to just becoming aware and keeping track of how long these tasks take you on a normal basis and then you'll have a better idea of it.
But, I'm going to share with you some things that you can do to estimate now without taking the time to track and analyze your time over the span of a week or two.
I want to flip that question on its head, so instead of asking how long will that blog post take me, ask yourself is how long do I want to spend on that blog post?
How long do you want to spend on that task?
When you flip that question on its head, you can't say I don't know anymore!
You have to get specific, do you want to spend eight hours on one blog post? Do you want to spend hours, days, weeks, months, maybe years on a task?
No, probably not. You want to get things done efficiently and effectively so you can continue to grow your business.
Things are going to take eight weeks, months, maybe even years, if you are continuing to pile on more and more and more under your to-do list without estimating how long you want to spend on them.
This is where I share with you my magic trick. After I became more aware of how long things were taking me and I did the whole time tracking activity… I realized that things took me about one and a half or two times as long as I wanted to spend on them or how long I thought they should take.
Thanks to my engineering brain!
So when I'm planning my week, I write my to-do list just like you probably do, and then next to each task, I write how long I want to spend on each thing and then I multiply it by one and a half or two.
For example, since I create YouTube videos, I would love to script a month's worth of videos in an hour but, I think that is a lofty goal. It still takes me a little bit longer than an hour to script four videos, so I'll multiply it by two. Then, I schedule in my calendar two hours to script my YouTube videos for the next month.
This little trick will help you estimate how long things will actually take you so you don't have to feel shame about not getting everything done and being super unrealistic about your to-do list.
Again, this is super individualized so I want to encourage you to go back to the exercise of tracking your time. Maybe writing a blog post or scripting YouTube videos will take you three times as much. Or three and a half when you're just starting out and there's nothing wrong with that.
Try not to get caught up in the hustle culture mindset or mode. When you're just starting your own business, you're learning a ton of new things on the daily! Your brain is on overdrive and so when things take a little bit longer, it's okay.
You just want to estimate realistically so you don't stress yourself out and think that you should be doing more when in reality we're learning, we're getting amazing work done on the time frame that we can. Time management just got a whole lot easier!
Want the exact steps showing you how to curate a calendar that works and feels amazing for YOU?
Check out Soulful Scheduling - a self-paced course for busy adults with limited time.
The perfectionist-procrastination cycle
This leads me into the next topic, which is the perfectionist-procrastination cycle. They are super connected. You might have both, one, or the other but it's really important to talk about this when it comes to estimating how long things will actually take you.
I'm bringing this up because it's a huge cycle that I see with my clients and, while these two topics can be talked about in completely individual videos of themselves, about going into why they're there and how to fix them.
But if you're spending hours writing something because you're a perfectionist and you're pouring all of your heart, energy, and soul into this thing, then you probably are experiencing some sort of perfectionism. You probably want to add that into your magic trick right? Things will probably take 3.5 to 4 times longer. Unless you do the work to figure out why perfectionist tendencies are coming out.
The same thing with procrastination, if you tend to put things off and off and off and you don't end up starting until like an hour or two later, then maybe add that in the time that it takes, so you know what you are spending your 24 hours on.
Granted, those are band-aid solutions. I am NOT talking about how to get to the root of them, lovingly solve them and work through them. These are just simple tips that you can use to estimate and be more realistic about your to-do list. I will be doing a video on both of these things because I used to have both of them! However, if you do want to do a little bit of self-coaching around perfectionist or across procrastination tendencies, feel free to just get out a piece of paper right now, stop reading and just write down. Ask yourself, why do you think that you are being a perfectionist when it comes to this task that you are taking hours and hours on? and why are you procrastinating starting things? Just ask yourself why. That's like the greatest question, how to get down to the root and get closer and closer to healing.
If you feel guilty about pushing your tasks back and back, then you need to check out this other post, “3 things that you miss when you write your to-do list” because that blog is really going to get to the root of why you keep pushing your tasks back and why you feel so overwhelmed and overworked all of the time!
If you love this blog post and you got a super awesome tip from it, feel free to comment that tip below. I would love to get to know how this post helped and how are you going to start implementing this!
What to do when you get frustrated
When faced with the frustration of not finishing tasks on time or struggling to accurately estimate how long tasks will take, it's essential to recognize the interplay between your energy levels and your capacity for focus. Especially for individuals with ADHD, a boring task can induce a state of hypofocus, where dopamine levels plummet, making even simple tasks feel insurmountable.
Rather than berating yourself for not meeting deadlines, consider giving yourself grace. Acknowledge that your brain's innate wiring affects how you engage with tasks, and it’s more than okay to find certain activities draining. Allow yourself to take frequent breaks or switch to a more stimulating (or fun!) task when you notice your focus waning, as this can help recharge your mental energy.
When you get frustrated, I also recommend using it as an opportunity to strengthen your confidence, even if that feels impossible in the moment. Building confidence in your ability to manage your time effectively involves reframing your self-talk. Instead of succumbing to negative thoughts like "I can't do this" or "I'll never finish," challenge those narratives by focusing on small, easily achievable steps.
Remind yourself that progress often comes in increments and that it's perfectly acceptable to start with just a few minutes of focused work. For instance, telling yourself, “I am willing to engage with this task for just ten minutes” can shift your mindset from feeling overwhelmed to one of possibility, potential, and hope. This positive self-talk not only helps lift your confidence but also helps to create a more optimistic environment for task completion.
Finally, it’s vital to cultivate an understanding of your own unique rhythms and limitations. Keep a journal to track your energy levels and how they correlate with different tasks. This would help you gain insight into when you're most productive and feeling the best. And then don't forget to celebrate your successes, no matter how small, to reinforce the positive feedback loop that fuels motivation and focus. By treating yourself with kindness and compassion, you can navigate the challenges of effective time management. Remember that it's not about perfection but about progress.
Want the exact steps showing you how to curate a calendar that works and feels amazing for YOU?
Check out Soulful Scheduling - a self-paced course designed to help you take back control of how you spend your valuable time every day.
Why a holistic approach to time management is so powerful
Feel like you're constantly running on a hamster wheel, with time slipping away faster than you can catch up?
Are you struggling to juggle all of your responsibilities, while also trying to make time for the things that matter most to you?
If so, I hear you. And you’re not alone.
In our world which is full of distractions and pressures, being intentional with your time is more important than ever.
But traditional approaches to time management fall short.
A holistic approach to time management offers a powerful solution.
Rather than focusing solely on productivity and efficiency, a holistic approach considers all aspects of your life and creates a more sustainable and balanced approach to managing your time.
In this post, we'll explore what a holistic approach to time management is and why it actually works.
If you're ready to feel like yourself and live your life the way you want to, keep reading!
What is a holistic approach to time management?
A holistic approach to time management goes beyond simply organizing tasks and schedules.
This radical way of managing time explores the interconnectedness of all the areas of life such as work, relationships, environment, finances, and your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
It recognizes that time is a precious and limited resource. It aims to help you make conscious, intentional decisions about how you spend your time to experience a greater sense of purpose, satisfaction, and overall well-being.
At the core of holistic time management is you. Your values, your priorities, and long-term vision.
It believes that when you are well, everything else is easier. Much easier.
Because of this, a holistic approach to time management is inherently anti-capitalist.
When you spend your time in a way that prioritizes enoughness, fulfillment, and wellness, you are challenging the dominant, capitalist narratives around time and productivity.
Holistic time management helps you resist the societal pressure to work longer hours and prioritize work/doing/productivity above all else. It helps you reclaim your life and live the way you want to.
My application of holistic time management also acknowledges that time is not only an individual problem or solution, it’s a collective one. How we’re able to spend our time is directly connected to the systems we live in and the privileges and support we have.
What happens when you don’t use a holistic approach to time management
Time management was founded by a fellow engineer, Frederick Winslow Taylor (the author of The Principles of Scientific Management published in 1911).
The goal of traditional time management? Optimizing productivity and efficiency to complete as many tasks as possible in the shortest amount of time, with the hope that if you get everything done, you can rest and relax.
The problem with this thinking? Work and to-dos never end.
Traditional time management does not take into account individual rhythms and needs and ignores the beautiful, magical, intuitive, and unpredictable-ness of life.
Trying to manage our time in a capitalist and extractive way leaves us feeling shame, failure, isolation, guilt, unrealistic expectations, falling behind, stress, exhaustion, overwhelm, and burnout.
It’s no wonder we’re exhausted, we’re still using many of his (and other neurotypical, middle-class, white male) principles.
Time management with a holistic approach actually works
A holistic approach to time management actually works because it recognizes and honors the fact that you are a unique and whole, human being.
And it emphasizes self-knowledge, mindfulness, compassion, trust, and intuition.
If you have trauma, a chronic illness, are neurodivergent, or are simply a human who doesn’t want to live exhausted on autopilot, holistic time management is here for you.
It’s about more than just checking off tasks on a to-do list.
It's about identifying and crafting an easeful life around your values and priorities. It also acknowledges and addresses the societal factors and deeper beliefs that cause you to feel overwhelmed, stressed out, or short on time.
Holistic time management will give you the skills, mindsets, and tools you need to finally have time for everything that’s important to you, including space to rest, have fun, and enjoy your days.
A holistic approach to time management allows you to engage with a life beyond being a cog in the machine.
You get to accomplish your goals while experiencing a life full of peace and freedom.
You get to be the person you want to be.
To create the art and beauty you want to see in the world.
And to experience more ease and joy than you’ve ever felt.
What’s more important than that?
Hire me as your time coach to create time for everything that’s important to you, including space to rest, have fun, and enjoy your life!
Themed Days: A surprisingly powerful way to make time to create
If you’re here, you’ve most likely got big dreams, a big heart, and somehow… never enough time to create the things you want to create.
Whether it’s writing, art, bringing new offerings into the world, or anything else that brings you joy.
Now if you’re a creative soul, traditional time management advice isn’t usually your cup of tea. For good reason, most of it feels shame-y and icky.
However, when used in a curious and compassionate way, I’ve seen the most anti-structure folks find a way forward that works for them and helps them do the things they’ve been trying to do for years.
If you’ve been struggling with never having enough time to create, themed days are here to help you make the most of your day.
Keep reading to learn more.
Why is finding creative time such a challenge?
Bills! Survival Mode! Valuing working/doing over creating! Self-sabotage! Limited capacity! Feeling undeserving of creative time! Etc! Etc! Etc!
There are so many reasons why finding time to create such a challenge, and so many things fighting for our precious time and energy. Know you’re not alone in this.
If you wear tons of different hats, finding a way to collaborate with time is extremely important. And themed days are a surprisingly powerful way to heal what might be keeping you from creating and finally, create.
Who might benefit the most from using themed days?
If you…
Never have enough time to create/make things for any reason. Often because you seem to always do other things.
Struggle with the “time is up” phenomenon (you feel inspired one day and would like to spend more time on something. Yet the schedule you’d made tells you that time is up and you need to move to your next time slot. UGH, the worst!)
Want to be more space + flowy + intuitive with your scheduling. Click here to read about why intuition is so important when it comes to your schedule.
Want to make easier or faster progress on a project you care about.
Find yourself multi-tasking or getting distracted more than you’d like to.
Struggling with being consistent and/or self-disciplined.
Resonate with any of these? Then themed days might be a good next thing to experiment with!
What are themed days?
As defined by Leonard Alexandru, themed days are about “Having each day of the week (or the work-week) dedicated to a certain topic or project.”
Blaz Kos shares, “Themed days are strategically planned days in your calendar which are completely dedicated to one single thing.”
I wanted to share both of those definitions as they might be helpful for your understanding. However, I’m a rebellious, creative, spiritual soul language is really important to me. How things are said makes a huge difference in being able to buy into and effectively use tools and strategies.
That being said, I would define themed days as, “Regular scared containers of time dedicated to deeply important things.”
Is language important to you too? Do you have a different definition? I’d love to hear it in the comments below.
How to create themed days that feel good to you
Identify the things that are deeply important to you (see definition of themed days above).
Open your calendar or the thing you use to visualize your time. See what time you have or can make available.*
If you don’t have something, pick someplace you’re going to use to visualize your time (I use my google calendar for everything!)
Pick a set amount of time (half-day, day, etc.) that you can turn into a sacred container.
Pair the important things with the sacred container, and that’s your theme!
After you’ve set up a themed day, you can get more granular and turn that time into smaller blocks of time connected to specific things you’d like to do.
Ask yourself what you need to have in place or do to commit to your sacred container.
This can range from communicating boundaries with others, changing your availability in your scheduling system, or sitting with it until the theme feels right to you.
These steps might feel simple, but they are profound when integrated. When themed days are properly set up, following them feels natural and 10x easier to do.
*A solid foundation for themed days is knowing your capacity, availability, and responsibilities and having a home for them. Again, I use a weekly schedule template in my google calendar to holistically capture all of this.
How I’ve historically used themed days in my life
When I was starting out with my business, I was also an engineer working 5 days a week. I themed out 3 hours each day of the week for all of the things I needed to do to grow my business.
Monday’s were CEO days (planning, reviewing, mindset, strategy).
Tuesdays were building days (develop offerings).
Wednesdays were writing content days.
Thursdays were grow days (networking, talking to people, etc.)
Fridays were bonus days to do anything I didn’t get to.
Now, my themed days have simplified a bit and have gotten more intuitive:
Monday’s are to create whatever I want to create.
Tuesday - Thursday are call-focused days (clients, networking, podcasting, etc.)
The rest of my time is off/unscheduled.
Watch out for these common themed day pitfalls
1. Automatically assuming themed days won’t work for you.
Of course, never try to force things on you if they don’t feel right. However, when we immediately think about why something won’t work for us, we won’t see what parts might work for us. Ultimately this keeps up stuck.
2. Not experimenting with your themes until you find what feels good.
Themes (aka what’s most important to us) are always evolving and changing. Try not to expect them to perfectly work at first, or forever.
3. Not being flexible in real-time.
Things come up in life and they change things. This is expected, and it doesn’t mean you or your themed days suck. You are completely in control of your themes, sacred containers, and time.
4. Overdoing it.
It can be really easy to overdo planning in an attempt to feel safe and keep uncertainty at bay. If you create many different themed days before integrating even one, it will most likely feel overwhelming and you’ll want to scrap it all.
Give yourself permission to get creative with time strategies!
Themed days are one of those things that can be used rigidly, ineffectively, and shame-y. They can also be used in a powerful, creative, and spiritual way.
When themed days are used with curiosity and compassion, I’ve seen even the most anti-structure folks find a way forward that works for them and helps them do the things they’ve been trying to do for years. You can too!
Want to set up themed days that’ll WORK (no messin’ around)? Read more about my Sustainable Schedule VIP Day.
How to Delegate So You Fall In Love with Your Business Again
It’s exciting starting and growing your own business, isn’t it? It’s an opportunity to create something exactly as you envision it.
No one is there to tell you what to do or how to do it. It’s your baby to nurture and develop and give you the freedom to be yourself.
But all too often, reality sets in. And it’s not always a great reality. Your baby is demanding. There are so many things to do.
So many behind-the-scenes tasks it takes to run a business that you weren’t exactly thinking about when you pursued your passion.
Tasks that aren’t necessarily in your zone of genius and are taking way longer than you know they should.
So there you are with this amazing thing you’ve created, but you’re tired. You’re stressed, you’re overwhelmed, you’re headed for burnout (or maybe you’re already there), and you might even feel like shutting it all down.
If it’s any comfort telling you you’re not alone, please know that is true. I’ve seen it time and again with the business owners I work with.
So many of us are extremely capable and could probably win a multi-tasking contest if there was such a thing. We figure, hey, I’m great at getting lots of things done, so that’s what I’ll do in my business - all the things.
But guess what? Doing everything in your business is exactly what you should not be doing. In this post, I’ll be stepping you through a simple delegation process that I take my clients through.
Written by: Cory Zacker
Learning how to delegate
The key to a successful business that can grow and flourish is learning how to delegate. If you get clear on the tasks you love doing most (and that light you up) and get even more clear on the things that drain you, you’ll be well on your way to improving your delegation skills.
And hear me when I tell you this: assigning tasks to someone else does not mean you’re any less worthy. It does not mean you’re lazy or incompetent or less than. It means you understand what you do best and are willing to entrust someone else with those things you want to let go of. That’s a big part of the mindset of delegating and something I encourage you to embrace.
Assigning tasks to someone else
So how do you get clarity on what exactly you want to pass on to someone else? I like to use a simple strategy I call the Yea, Nay, Give Away exercise. It’s concise, clear, and will probably take no more than 15 minutes to complete.
Make three columns on a piece of paper (or a document on your computer) and label them Yea, Nay, and Give Away.
Yea
In the Yea column, list those things you love doing in your business. The tasks that energize you and come easy. For me it’s face-to-face client work, networking with colleagues, and writing. Those are three of the things that light me up.
Nay
In the Nay column, list the ones that take too much time and sap your energy. Things you might not be that great at and resent spending your time doing. (Remember, you might add a few personal things in this column that are taking you away from your business, e.g., cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.)
This one is easy for me. Numbers are important in any business, but they’re just not my thing. I pay attention to them, but I don’t want to spend time doing my bookkeeping and accounting myself. It doesn’t come naturally to me and it takes way too much time.
Give Away
Then in the Give Away column, choose some items from the Nay list that you can either get rid of altogether or delegate to someone else. (Hello, accountant!)
Once you have your Give Away items, take a good look at them and figure out who or what can help you. Would hiring a virtual assistant for a few hours a week take care of some of those tasks? Or maybe a babysitter/mother’s helper can tick a few of those boxes. Can a bookkeeper take over your billing? Or maybe a tech person could set up automation for you.
Why delegating actually makes you money
When you get clarity on what you need and who can help you, delegating doesn’t seem so hard. I’ve seen just a few hours a week of hiring help make a huge difference in someone’s business.
Take Sherri - an amazing woman I know with a hugely successful business. She was doing everything herself and was overworked and overwhelmed. Once we figured out who she needed to hire and what tasks she was going to delegate, Sherri had way more time to nurture her current clients and find new ones. Within a month of hiring a project manager, she was able to sign a new client who paid 5x what Sherri was paying her new team member. So delegating actually made her money.
What assigning tasks to others can do for you
So what does delegating in your business bring you?
Time - sweet, delicious, abundant time just for you. Time to not only rest and recharge, but to do what you love doing (remember that Yea list?).
Growth - yup, it’s true. With more time on your hands, you’ll be able to nurture your leads, create new offers, and reach more potential clients. I’ve seen it happen.
Peace of mind - fewer tasks equals less stress. Less stress equals a calmer you.
You created your business out of passion. So I’m inviting you to take some time to make more time for this thing you love. And more time to step away from it when you need to. (And it’s okay to need to.)
Let’s try to eliminate the word solopreneur, shall we? There’s no reason to do it all by yourself and learning how to delegate is the key to falling back in love with your business.
Want to feel confident, in control, and at peace with your time? Click here to get free + supportive resources!
About the contributor
Cory Zacker is a business consultant and strategist, as well as a certified Positive Psychology coach. She helps brilliant service providers grow, nurture, and manage their business with personalized growth strategies and business mindset coaching. With over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, Cory uses her business wisdom plus her warmth and humor to help entrepreneurs align with their core values, simplify their systems, and manage and grow their teams all while reducing the stress and overwhelm of growing their thriving business.
The 3 best strategies to finally heal the multi tasker in you
The 3 best strategies to finally heal the multi tasker in you
As entrepreneurs, we end up getting stuck in a to-do list hamster wheel of busyness!
We end up feeling behind all the time on our own self-imposed deadlines and then, really struggle to balance our work and our lives so we end up trying to multitask.
If that is you, if you end up trying to multitask to get more things done in a day, this blog post is for you! I'm going to share three reasons why multitasking doesn't make you more productive and what to do instead so you can get more things done but in less time, less chaos, and less stress!
Our brains are not made to multitask!
What is the first reason why multitasking does not make you more productive? Our brains are not made to multitask, simple as that!
We are not made to do more than one thing at once. Our brains are designed to just accomplish one thing at a time. What we end up thinking is, multitasking is really just switching between things super fast or maybe even super slow. So putting all that pressure on your brain to do more than one thing at once is going against its nature.
It takes a lot more time to accomplish the few things that you're trying to accomplish at once and that is going to add so much stress onto your brain and onto yourself. A study on psychology today that showed how multi-taskers are 40% less productive and it can take as long as 25 minutes to resume working after an interruption or trying to switch to the other task. For example, if you end up checking Instagram while you are trying to write a blog post.
The best thing that we can do here is recognize, acknowledge and appreciate our human nature, our brains. This is where deep self-compassion comes into the picture.
What to do instead
When you find yourself trying to multitask because you feel behind or for whatever other reason, pause, remember that you, your brain just doesn’t work this way.
Then figure out what is the one task that you want to focus on, write it down on a piece of paper and have that front and center for you to remember.
This is a practice you're gonna keep coming back to. Just like if you've ever tried meditation and your brain starts thinking, you simply remember that you're thinking and come back to your breath.
Multitasking decreases your creativity
The next reason why multitasking does not make you more productive is that it kills your creativity.
When you're over there trying to switch between tasks, from task to task, your creativity is dampened, you probably have a lot harder time thinking outside of the box. Especially when you are trying to start your own business and be of service to other people, you're not going to be in that mindset or that frame of mind when you are just jumping from thing to thing.
And let's be honest, how many times have you had a brilliant idea when you're washing the dishes or in the shower? It's because, during those times, you are most likely just focusing on one thing.
The reason why that happens is that ideas are born from the prefrontal cortex, which is the forehead area, but this is the part of our brains that really truly can only focus on one thing at once.
So, as an entrepreneur, you know you need your most brainpower and your most creativity so it's not going to make you more productive by multitasking.
What to do instead
The solution here, or the way to move forward, is to define clear boundaries around your creative or deep thought focused time. Try to uphold them as best as possible, obviously knowing that this again, is a practice. You are never going to be perfect at upholding your boundaries and perfectionism is just not possible.
Multitasking takes you out of the present moment
The third reason why multitasking does not make you more productive is that you are not living or working in the present moment. When we race through life without truly experiencing all the small simple things about it, we are experiencing much less.
When we continue to try to multitask, eventually it does start to erode our focus and our ability to pay attention and stillness becomes completely impossible for us to even imagine integrating into our lives.
When you are present and add more mindfulness into your day-to-day, you are more able to focus and get more things done and do it without the stress and the chaos.