As business owners and team leads, we are responsible for everything from marketing to hiring to procurement. This portfolio of responsibilities often makes it difficult to focus on tasks that move the needle for our company. We are torn selecting tasks to work on from among the zillion tasks in our heads. How does one focus?
What’s been working for me is the THREE PILLAR MINDSET.
I categorize tasks into PILLARS and POSTS:
Pillars
Pillars are tasks most important for your organization at this moment
If you are focused on growth, it could be working on deals and important leads as well as hiring. If quality improvement is what’s important right now, you could be working on quality standards, training, and improved processes.
You get the point… Pillars move you forward.
Posts
Posts are everything else that must be done but are not your pillars.
Office renovation, selecting the right color for your website, procuring office supplies. Posts are often tasks that can be accomplished by other members of your team (as long as you let them do it).
Posts may be important, but in the big picture, won’t move you forward.
THE THREE-PILLAR MINDSET
- Make a list of tasks you want to achieve today.
- Identify THREE PILLAR TASKS – tasks which you absolutely must accomplish/work on.
- Forget all other tasks (posts) for the moment.
- Tell yourself that you will not end your day until you have accomplished your Pillars. Work on them first.
- When your pillars get done, you will find yourself mentally relaxed. Take a break and start working on posts and get as many done as possible.
Why it works
Focussing on 3 tasks a day does not overwhelm you. Categorizing and dumping posts to the back burner frees up mind space to focus on Pillars (which are generally harder to accomplish).
Completing your pillars gives you a sense of achievement and relaxes you mentally. You are almost done for the day. With this frame of mind, your posts (which are usually easier to accomplish) get done faster.
Tips to make it work for you
List and Categorize your tasks when you are relaxed
Making your to-do list for tomorrow during an afternoon tea break is effective. You are relaxed. It also gives you time to make necessary arrangements and communicate dependencies to your team well in advance.
Learn to say no
If a task is not a pillar and someone requests for it – learn to say no. Ask if it can be worked on after your pillars. (If it’s urgent and important it should have been a pillar in the first place.)
Adapt it to suit your needs
Having 3 pillars works for me on most days. You are free to change it to 2, 4 or 5 depending on the nature of your tasks. It’s important that your pillars are challenging enough and at the same time not too overwhelming.
Be rigorous
Work your shoes off to accomplish your Pillars. And prioritize tasks every day.
How Workpod can help
Workpod lets you (and your team) Pin tasks. These are shown as your to-do list for the day so you can focus on them distraction-free. Its unique check-out flow also reminds you to categorize tasks when you check out of work daily. Do try, it’s free.
Stop running from pillar to post. Stick to your Pillars and get more done.