Handling the Overwhelm of Your To-Do List

It's an issue I come across far too often with the print business owners I work with, and I do not doubt that many of you reading this today experience the same. What does your to-do list look like?

New ideas. Follow-up with clients. Order stock. Sort out an equipment issue. Write a job description for a new hire. Arrange training for a member of staff. A half-finished marketing plan. Post on social media. Add more products to website. Update website. Send an email campaign out. Write a blog. Fix the light in the staff toilet. Chase up outstanding invoices. And that's on top of the actual print jobs you need to get out of the door. 

It's really no wonder so many print business owners feel stuck. It's the old analysis paralysis situation where you feel you have so much to do, it's overwhelming, and therefore nothing gets ticked off that list. It's not that they're lazy or unmotivated, just buried. Ambition to get the work done isn't the issue. It just needs clarity applied. 

Big to-do lists can feel productive; it's great to get all those things on paper and have something to work through, but what can happen is that they also create decision fatigue. All of a sudden, everything feels urgent. We end up either burning out trying to get it all done, or what normally happens is we freeze and get a little or none of it done. That's when the procrastination sneaks in. It's not because we don't want to do the tasks, we do. We simply become overwhelmed. 

So, How Do We Fix That?

Prioritisation. However, it needs to be strategic. You need to focus on the things that will drive the quicker wins for your business. The tasks that actually drive growth, not just the nice-to-haves. That's where working with someone like me kicks in. A business coach, a mentor, a trusted colleague. 

I work with print business owners every day. They are the very inspiration for writing this article. They come to me with a to-do list that has hundreds of items on their list and a frazzled brain to go with it. They're all trying to do the right things, but if there is no clear order or strategy, it just feels like they are spinning plates. 

When we sit down together, the first thing we do is sift through the list and identify:

• How long is each task likely to take?
• Which ones are critical to moving the business forward?
• Which ones are a distraction?
• What are the quick wins we can address first to build some momentum?

Remember, not everything needs to be addressed at once. It's about doing the right things in the correct order. 

Sometimes, that means hitting pause on certain tasks that felt important, but if they don't actually serve your immediate goals, they need to take a back seat. 

Having someone who understands the business can go a long way. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I have worked with hundreds of print business owners, so I can often help identify where the quick wins are. The shortcuts to cutting through the to-do list and gaining quicker progress. When we start to make the right progress, it gives us the confidence that our time and energy are being invested wisely. 

Sometimes, the biggest win is just having a clearer plan. Knowing what you're doing this week to grow your business without second-guessing the plan will be a huge weight lifted.