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[Kristen Wilkerson Contribution Level: 1]

Okay - so I am feeling overwhelmed a bit and need the help of other entrepreneur types who have been through this before to help me prioritize.

I need to accomplish the following and am just not sure what to work on first. Please advise!
- Finish making our corporate website (not a money-maker; more of a marketing tool)
- Finish editing product descriptions and keywords on our e-commerce site
- Create a new website for a second service-based tax preparation business that we do
- Create and send a letter to our tax business clients about the new tax laws for 2010
- Create and send our monthly newsletter for our e-commerce site
- Work on comments / blogging / networking
- Organize the receipts from the last year of our business (the first year, and boy are we unorganized!)

Again, please help me prioritize!! I don't even know where to begin. What do you suggest?
Thanks,
Kristen

[Susanna Hess Contribution Level: 2]

Hi Kristen,

I'm not going to pretend to know all the answers, but what I have found very useful when experiencing what you just described, is to pick one thing and not allow myself to get distracted with anything else until it's done. It sounds like some of the things on your list are one time things, so get them done and out of the way so you can move on to the fun stuff (social media).

That may not be the answer you are looking for, but when feeling overwhelmed, pick a project and focus on it till it's complete. That feeling of victory you get will motivate you right on to the next one.

[Michael B Wilbraham Contribution Level: 4]

Hello Kristen,

You have already made a start, simply by making a list of everything that you need to do.

What you need to do know, is sit quietly for a while, & allocate a time value to each of those tasks - ie how long, in your opinion, will it take to complete each one. That will then serve to qualify each one in terms of the amount of attention you need to give it.

Do you need to work on each one every day, or can some of them be worked on at regular intervals, say alternate days?

Which ones are urgent?

The answers to these questions will further help you to allocate time for working on each. Should you decide to work on each one every day, then you need to allocate the most time to the ones that need the most work, & lesser time to the ones that can be completed quickly. This is assuming that they all need to be finished at about the same time ie the end of January. Make a list of the tasks and allocate a time to it when you will start & finish working on it. Make "appointments" for the tasks, that you must keep, just as if you were making appointments with clients.

Otherwise, if some need to be finished before others - follow Susanna's advice & clear the once-off quick, shorter projects, then move on to the more intricate ones.

If necessary, shut down your office to all visitors or interruptions, like telephone calls, until the task is completed. Also, only keep on your desk the stuff that is required to complete the task immediately at hand. Take everything else off & put it somewhere else until you need to work on it.

[Sandeep Nath Company: MyLeadSystemPRO Contribution Level: 6]

Here's a revolutionary software to use: MS Excel

Put all items and sub items on the left and create 30 columns.
Tick off some items / sub-items to be finished every day.
Ensure all items / sub-items are ticked off by the time you reach the 30th column.
Now start... and follow the excel sheet (don't sleep till day's work is done).

It's better to finish everything in a month than to waste time wondering whether you're on track with "first things first".

How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.

[Erica Jones Company: Talk Fusion Global Contribution Level: 3]

Hey Kristen
When it comes to a list like this there are 2 things to consider in my book.

1. what is going to make you money? If the task is not going to make you money then it's not as important than something that will.

2. what do you hate to do the most? I call it "eating the frog first". If you have something on your "to do" list that looms over you and makes you want to run and hide - do it first! That way, when it's done the rest of the tasks won't seem that difficult and you'll have a lot more fun.
The other method to this is outsource. Pay someone else to do the things that you hate to do. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.



Oh and you don't need anything fancy to set this up. Use a text document (notepad) on your desktop and everyday at the end of the day write down 3 things that will move your business forward for the next. That way, when you sit down to work you will know exactly what you're doing and won't waste anytime at all figuring it out.
(take into consideration your schedule and responsibilities. Don't overload yourself, but set goals that will challenge you.)

Remember even the smallest step forward is still forward. Don't think about everything you have to do, just one thing at a time and they will all get done.

Cheers
Erica