As the owner of a smallish business and faced with an unending list of the ever increasing To Do List, a very wise person once said to me -“just do what makes you happy”.

Huh ….I thought, all my education and training, all my experience, coaching/mentoring and advice, the web sites giving tips and lists of the five, ten, twenty “secretes to wealth and success” the logic and teachings of time management gurus says NO. This advise just does not fit my paradigm. It must be wrong.

I ignored it, treating those who offered such advice like I treat those who think a Leprecorn in the garden are responsible for some of our fortunes (hello mother), sort of well meaning wacky but harmless. (See what are leprecorns).

I went back to listing, organising, prioritising, setting performance objectives, triaging all emails by day end, booking jobs in, doing what’s critical first… well you know the drill. My well organised To Do List has been my daily companion sine I was 15 ½ years of age (at that time ACDC were making “Back in Black”).

Rene Descartes said Cogito ergo sum (I am because I think) Seamus O’Brien says “I am because I have a well organised To Do List”.

Last year the advice surfaced again and again and again. From highly qualified academics, serious first class professionals, very successful entrepreneurs and a very interesting Success Guru. I gave it a go. When faced with the To Do List and being stopped, To Do List block, just can’t face it any more, I asked myself, what would make me happy and do that?

Funny result, first I get stuff done, done well and I feel energised rather than depleted. Secondly and most surprisingly, after considering the options often what I end up doing to make me happy is something from the things that are high on my To Do List anyway, one of those things that need doing.

So when you run out of energy, get stopped, experience being blocked, are working ineffectively and efficiently try this- reorganise your To Do List on the basis of what would make you happy and pick that one, leave the rest.
Now test your energy, concentration, efficiency and focus levels, see if you are not powered up again and ready to face that BAS statement. Well maybe that’s a big call, but you get the drift.

Give it a go and let me know… now I must get back to work, where is my To Do list.. has the creepy Leprecorn taken it again.

Be kind to yourself.