I love ticking items off my task list… in fact I will admit to adding already completed jobs to a task list just so I can have the pleasure of ticking them off 😉

The more I think about this – the more I realise it relates back to my previous blog about the addictive nature of computer games – and how we can learn a lot from them in our day to day lives.

This small reward of ticking an item off your list is almost as addictive as 20 minutes on Angry Birds! (or Moshi Monsters if you live in our house!)

So… how can we have more of this “ticking off” buzz and less “just can’t get round to it” stress.

Here are a few steps from 54 degrees to help you get on with whatever piece of work is haunting your task list:

1. Find yourself 10 minutes – get up a little earlier, use the 10 minutes in the car when you are early for a meeting or force yourself away from Twitter 10 minutes “early”!

2. Get out your chosen planning tool – for me it is always a pencil and a piece of paper – but mind mapping apps work just as well, or Outlook task lists,

3. Put your goal at the top of the paper or list – redesigned website; new product launch; new team etc and underline it – this is the task which has been niggling at you for the last few months or even longer,

4. Underneath it write down the first few things you think of which would need to be done in order to deliver the overall goal,

5. This bit is REALLY IMPORTANT – these tasks do not need to be in any order; they do not need any detail; you do not need to know how they will get done or by who…yet!

6. And now, suddenly you start to see a path in front of you… a series of stepping stones towards your goal

7. This is just a start… but you are on your way… and you can tick the first item off your list… “Start high level planning process”!

Email Sarah@54-degrees.co.uk or call on 07976 395754 for more information