Words to the Wise

For a guy who never really planned to have a career as a freelance copywriter (let a lone a successful one), you’d think my days would somewhat unplanned as well.

In fact, my days are as orchestrated as live television. Each day has its own goals, both long-term and short. The long-term goals and their associated tasks keep me pointed in the right direction in life and my career. The short-term goals help support the long-term ones.

But it hasn’t always been this way. There was once a time when I would sit down at my desk to a pile of new mail in my inbox, 100 new e-mails and a ton of articles and helpful emails that I’d love to read. I kept telling myself that the tasks that were most important could be done later and that I had to ‘invest’ my time into emptying my inbox and reading about how to be a better copywriter. Before I knew it, the day was done and nothing that truly mattered had been accomplished.

I decided that if I were to be successful in my career as a copywriter, I had to be in charge of my time - regardless of who was paying me or not paying me for it. The best way to do that, I decided was to create my day based on a list that I create.

My Daily Task List:

Taking a cue from FedEx founder Fred Smith, I start each day the afternoon before.

What I mean is that I create my daily list of tasks at the end of the previous day - usually after 5pm when I’ve ‘left’ work for the day. I even do this on Friday night in anticipation of Monday.

I begin my list by by taking a look at my list from the current day. I make a note of which items on the list I’ve completed and which ones I have yet to do. My new list - for the next day - starts with those tasks I have yet to do. I then take a look at my weekly, monthly and yearly objectives and goals to see if there are any other tasks that I want to add. After that, I look through my email to see if there are any actionable items I can add to my list there. I either schedule some of those inbox items for the following days, or trash them.

I do all this in my own handwriting on an 8.5 x 11 pad of paper. I write down each task, and the time I estimate it will take me to complete it. After I complete a task on the list, I note the actual time it takes to complete a task.

On an average day, I wind up with anywhere between 10 and 20 15-minute to one-hour tasks.

While I prefer to create my list by hand, in ink, you may prefer to create your list on your computer. There are still days that I use software, like iCal, to plan my days.

If I happen to have a task that I think will take more than three hours, I split it into pieces and do it over a couple of days. I tend to do a better job since I’ll have more energy and time to review and edit my work as I go.

In a perfect world, on a perfect day, I get all of my important tasks and most of my medium- and less-important tasks done every day. I try to accomplish as much as possible each day so I can achieve my long-term goals as quickly as possible. But, at the same time, I also want to feel good about my productivity at the end of each day.

When I complete a task, I cross it off my list and move to the next one. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now, and I still find myself with a little burst of energy every time I finish a task.

Creating my daily task list takes me under 15 minutes. The trick is to work from weekly work objectives, which are integral to monthly and yearly goals.

This system doesn’t work for everybody, but I promise you it’s worth a try. I think you’ll like it.

Before my clients and competitors have even called it quits for the day, I have figured out everything I need to do the next day to meet my goals. I know what has to be done, I know what my priorities are, and I’m already thinking about how I’ll tackle them. I never have to worry about forgetting something important. If you create your lists the way I do, you’ll end up with my same sense of energy and excitement, confident that your day, your week, your month, your year and your life are going to be productive.