When to Turn a Task Into An Appointment

Question for you….what I say the word “appointment,” what do you think of? 

Chances are, you think of something that HAS to get done. An event or activity that has a specific time associated with it. Maybe a Dr appointment or meeting?

When I say “task,” what do you think of? Probably a list of things that you need or want to get done. They do not have an associated date/time assigned to them.

Notice what I wrote there….a list that you “need or want” to get done. 

Most people have a running list somewhere...their head, paper, post it notes, phone, combination of the above of #allthethings.  They mix together high priority and low priority items all on this one list.

Then, at the end of the day or week, they are shocked to find out that a lot of stuff got done but oftentimes, not the most important stuff.

One thing you can change up today that can have a HUGE impact on your productivity and sense of accomplishment is learning when to turn a task into an appointment.

When you have something on your calendar for a specific date and time, you treat it like a non-negotiable. You treat it like something that HAS to get done. You prioritize it.

When I lay out my plan for the week, I take the most important tasks on my list and create actual calendar appointments for them. I make an appointment with myself at a specific time to get it done. The fact that I am sitting here writing this blog post right now is because I created an appointment for this morning to do it. I knew if I didn’t, it would stay on my task list and just never get done.

My challenge to you for this week is to do a quick review of your task list and find the 1 - 3 most important things on there.  Then, go create an appointment on your calendar for yourself.  Decide right now when those tasks are going to get done and treat them like an appointment!