“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” ~Alexander Graham Bell

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you haven’t gotten done all you want to and/or the pile seems to grow faster than you can address it? It is easy to feel caught up in an out of control avalanche.  But is the avalanche really uncontrollable.  Most often the answer is ‘no.’

Easier said than done, maybe, but a little discipline and focus make the efforts well worth the reward!  Next time you are feeling inundated stop, take a breath and put the following in to practice…

1) Write down your ‘to do’ list for the day and the week

2) Write down what you are doing throughout the day (calls, visits, tasks,         etc.)

3) Compare 

Is what you are spending your time on related or even supportive of what is on your list?  Are you getting as much done during the day as you thought?  Identify the ‘time sucks’ during your day.  I promise you there are some there.  Finally,  eliminate any non-emergency items that do not support your goal of decreasing your behemoth of a pile. I’m confident you will find that while the pile may continue to exist, it will be smaller and at times disappear all together.