To do lists and half completed tasks

I have quite a few projects that have been sitting around half - finished for some time. Part of the reason is simple - I start things when I have the time...but rather under-estimate the actual time I'm going to need to complete them. So I put them down - things get added to my daily job / task list and these "would be nice to have / do" projects get left behind.

I have the usual list of excuses - I work full time, I run MotivateMe! in my spare time, and am geting ready to launch a range of new training products "Ready to Change" - which means there is a lot of development work to be done. I also have two beautiful teenage kids I need to spend more time with, a house to keep clean and maintain and a garden that is being re-modelled....and find time to exercise and sleep occassionally.

So, how do you cope when all of a sudden you are faced with the possibility that your mother and sister are coming out for a visit and you're running out of time?

Well I have tried to enlist the help of some people to assist me with things like hole drilling for curtain tracks - but they've got as many excuses as I have....so may have to enlist the professional help of a handy "man" - but in the mean time I am tackling one major project area per "spare" evening and weekend.

Last weekend for instance I moved two trees, filled the bin with more garden waste from the re-modelling / dead tree removal process we started a few months back .... and finished a dress I was sewing. Medieaval style - red velvet. For those of you who know me well - will say "RED" but - you ALWAYS wear black ....

As I write this - dinner is cooking...and when I press send on tonight's edition of the daily dose shall clean the kitchen and wash the dishes. And then I shall carry on ripping my CD collection onto the computer (backup purposes) and then I am going to start on the sorting out the spare room.

You see - you can achieve many things if you have a clear idea of what it is you want to do and achieve. And you can multi-task at least some of them.

But first you need to know what you want to achieve...and more importantly - why.

So, an action item for you - take a quick walk through your house and see what projects you have started but failed to complete. Then you need to determine whether you still want to work on the item - and why....the why is important. If it is busy work - then what are you not doing when you are doing what you have decided to do....Everyone, and I do mean everyone can pick up the pace and completion rate of jobs, tasks and to do lists, by not determining the why you want to achieve these things. Get more determined, you can get more done.