Have you ever noticed how some things get done easily, but other things get shifted from one to-do list to the next without ever being completed?
You don’t have any issues getting your group fitness session planned for tomorrow. Sure it might take a while, and it might get done last minute, but it will get done before you meet with your clients.
You also don’t have any issues packing your gear and turning up on time to run your sessions. Or buying groceries for dinner tonight.
So why is it so hard to find time to write that newsletter? Or call that client who’s been missing the past 2 weeks?
Two things are going on here:
- The tasks I mentioned are Urgent. If they don’t get done, there will be immediate consequences. In the examples I mentioned you would end up with a crappy session, grumpy clients who are waiting for you and hungry kids.
- There are people holding you Accountable. If you run a session poorly, you’ll get immediate feedback from your clients. You’ll see it on their faces, in their body language and, if they’re nice, the feedback they give you after the session. And that discomfort is enough to make sure you do it differently next time.
So how do you get the other things done that you want to complete? Things that aren’t urgent where you don’t have anyone watching you to see if you get it done?
The answer is simple: You create the urgency and accountability.
Create urgency by giving yourself a deadline. Then, and this is important, share that task and deadline with someone else. Someone who will check up on you and see if you got it done.
Note: Don’t try to do one or the other. The magic of this is in having both urgency AND accountability.