As a small business owner or solopreneur, you probably wear a LOT of different hats for your business, and that can be SERIOUSLY overwhelming. Sometimes it can feel like you’re filling 10 different roles at once with all the things that you have to do just to keep your business up and running. Switching back and forth to maintain different aspects of your business can feel like you got absolutely nothing done in a day.

At Go Live HQ, we believe in working SMARTER, not harder. You’ve got the same number of hours in a day as Beyonce. You just have to use those hours wisely! OUR PRO TIP: QUIT MULTITASKING!

It’s proven that your mind cannot do two things at once. Even if you think you’re “multitasking,” your brain is actually taking extra time to switch back and forth between everything you’re juggling. In the end, the time it takes for your mind to fully switch its focus actually takes longer than if you were to just focus on one thing at once.

When you multitask, you don’t get things done as thoroughly as when you’re focused solely on the task at hand, your mind is occupied elsewhere, and you may feel like a hamster spinning in its wheel going nowhere fast when your to do list starts to pile up.

Thankfully, we’ve got your fix! Here's 5 tried and true ways that we use to tackle our to do list quickly, efficiently, thoroughly & without multitasking!

Here's 5 Ways To Tackle Your To Do List:

1. Try Batch Working.

One of our best tips for managing your time is to try to knock out the same task over and over again over the course of an afternoon, rather than spend the afternoon jumping from task to task. For example, block off Monday afternoons for writing up your blog content. Schedule out Tuesday mornings for client calls. Set aside a couple of hours Wednesday to follow up on those potential clients you haven’t heard from in awhile. You spend less brain energy working through one task over and over again than you would trying to do 7 different things in one afternoon.

2. Get Rid of Tech Distractions.

If you’re brainstorming, collaborating and meeting with someone, more often than not, you do not need tech distractions. Leave your computer, your tablet, your phone behind. As creatives, we find that our minds are more free, more engaged, more collaborative and able to kick out killer ideas when we aren’t limited by technical distractions. You can get with a big group of people who are using this method called “Mindful Meetings” too!

PRO TIP: We absolutely LOVE the Bamboo Folio for this. It’s un-plugged digital note taking at its finest! You just have to have the pad and the pen, and it tracks all of your notes, sends them to your device, and will even auto-type your notes. It’s been a HUGE timesaver for us. We don’t get distracted by technology in the first place, and we don’t take extra time moving our thoughts from paper to our computer. What a dream!

We chatted on our Instagram Stories about the Bamboo Folio! Watch the clip here!

get the bamboo folio

3. Stand up.

When your body is active, so is your mind! Have a standing, no-tech meeting. You’ll be surprised how fast people will try to get things done in that meeting. You could also invest in a standing desk. We use them for when we are really ready to bust out tasks. Plus, it’s easier to do a victory dance when you’re already standing.

4. Set a timer.

How long do you think it will take you to do the task? 5 minutes? 30? Decide how long you’re willing to spend on this task, set a timer, and GO! A task will take you as long as you allow it to. Got 3 days to write a term paper? I swear it will take you 3 full days to write that paper. But only got 60 minutes? and it’s DONE!

5. Snowball your tasks.

Do you know Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball method? Basically, you start with your smaller debts first! We apply the same method to our task lists. While some people might say to start with the tasks you like the least, we believe in starting with the smallest tasks first! You’ll get that satisfying high that comes from crossing things off your list at the beginning of your day, and that will give you serious momentum to keep you going the rest of the day.

We hope this list helps you knock out your to do list and make the many hats you wear as a business owner feel less like a uniform and more like a fashion statement!