How to Decide Which Tasks to Tackle First

Chances are, that if you've ever picked up a book about productivity or googled "how to get stuff done", you've run across "the p word". 

You know the one: "prioritize". 

Every "get stuff done" expert seems to say some version of the same thing: simply look at your to do list and pick the thing that is most important. Then, prioritize it and voila, we can all go home rich and happy! 

But if it were really that easy, I don't really think there would be -- and this is an exact figure I am quoting -- 40 million, 300 hundred thousand results when I google "how to prioritize".

So while it SEEMS simple, it can be REALLY difficult to figure out which tasks take priority. After all, all those tasks are on your list for a reason. 

We need a straightforward, bulletproof system for picking our priorities -- so we can finally stop debating whether we should start with the laundry, tackle the inbox or record a podcast first. 

So the question is, do you really know *how* to prioritize the stuff that matters in your business?

In today's episode of the Courage & Clarity Podcast, I'm going to help you pick out the tasks on your list you need to tackle FIRST -- how to spot them and move them to the top of your list, even if that list feels a mile long. 

Here's a sneak peek: 

  • Growth-Based Actions [6:14]

  • Why you feel like you don't accomplish anything [8:28]

  • Do this, not that [9:06]

  • How to tell if something is a GBA [12:25]  

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Growth-Based Actions

I'm going to cut straight to the chase here. When we're talking about the secret sauce of moving your business forward, the engine of a successful business is GROWTH BASED ACTIONS, or GBAs. 

First of all, let's talk about what a business is -- you know, Business 101 if you will. 

While there's a TON of moving pieces that go into entrepreneurship, a business really boils down to two major components. You must have a thing to sell in order to bring in dollars, and you must have people to BUY that thing. Congrats, you've got a business! 

So, following this simple definition, there are actually only two ways to GROW a business: grow your revenue, and grow your audience. 

So, let's go back to tasks. The objective here is to learn to identify actions we could take that will help us GROW. So in order for a task to truly be categorized as a *growth* based action, a task must directly: 

  1. Grow your revenue 

  2. Grow your audience or

  3. Grow your skillset (I added this one because it stands to reason that with new skills, you might be able to get better at growing your revenue and audience)

So GBAs are basically the stuff you REALLY wanna do, but never actually get to do because other urgent crap gets in the way. But without revenue and additional audience, you will see no additional growth.

Why you feel like you don't accomplish anything

This is the root of the feeling that you’re always working and never accomplishing: 

In general, GBAs are not urgent & technically don't “have to” be done… no one is going to chase you down if you put them off. So when sh*t hits the fan, we skip them.  

If you spend your days doing the things that FEEL urgent -- like showing up to meetings and chasing down admin tasks -- our growth based actions are lost completely. The problem is, it's REALLY easy for meetings and admins to take up the entire week!

But paradoxically, and unfortunately, these GBAs that get neglected and relegated to the back burner? Turns out they're the ENGINE of our businesses. And without an engine, is it any wonder that a car stays stuck? Without these, no additional revenue, no additional audience, no additional growth. 

 

"If you spend your days doing the things that FEEL urgent -- like showing up to meetings and chasing down admin tasks -- our growth based actions are lost completely."

-- Steph Crowder

 

So I'll give it to you straight: The health of your business depends on how well you do here (but no pressure, we got this!) 

Do this, not that

So now you know what a GBA is, here are some examples, "this not that" style.

Growing your revenue

THIS:

  • Developing or refining an offer to sell

  • Conducting "discovery calls" with potential clients 

  • Recording content for your video-based course 

  • Writing sales page copy for your product's page 

  • Any task related to increasing your PROFITABILITY

NOT THAT:

  • Going to a conference or networking event without a real plan, goal or purpose

  • Researching what your competitors are selling 

  • Listening to podcasts or reading books about selling stuff (information without action)

Growing your audience

This: 

  • Writing a blog post

  • Recording a podcast 

  • Shooting a video for your YouTube channel

  • Pitching yourself on other people's podcasts

  • Pitching guest posts for well-read blogs in your niche 

  • Any task related to increasing your VISIBILITY

Not that: 

  • Spending time on social media, unless you're there to create value and connection with a post or video 

  • Any task that is not *directly* related to increasing your potential customer base or deepening relationships with current followers

Growing your skillset 

Try this:

  • Taking a course about Facebook Ads so you can learn to target more clients

  • Tuning in to a podcast about physical product businesses because you want to learn to sell your handmade art 

  • Reading a book about hiring a team because you need to get more help in order to grow 

Not that: 

  • Taking in information that isn't highly relevant to the exact thing you're working on right now. Think "just in time" learning, not "procrastilearning" 

So remember: when figuring out which tasks you should tackle first, look for the GROWTH: grow your revenue, grow your audience, grow your business. 

How to tell if something is a GBA?

Now before I let you go, a word of caution: you might be tempted to add in things like social media or email. Before you make the argument that these grow your biz, STOP! 

Unless there is strategy involved, like planning out your social media editorial calendar for the next month, then don’t categorize it as a GBA.

Here are a few questions to ask if you're not sure whether you've got a GBA on your hands:

  • Is this a project or an ongoing task? (If it’s a recurring task, it's likely not a GBA.) 

  • Is this reactive (email, replying to comments on Instagram or in your FB group) or proactive (like creating a file of text snippets for customer support)? GBAs are proactive, so evaluating tasks through this filter can help you make the tough decisions. 

Because GBA's are growth based, they can be hard. Because growth is hard, it often pushes us outside of our comfort zone.

And when we're out of our comfort zone, often we're trying to do things we've never done before.

And when we're trying to do things we've never done before, sometimes we need HELP.

Instead of falling back on pre-committed meetings and admin tasks when things get sticky, let's examine further.

Is there a GBA on your list that is keeping you stuck? Do you need to raise your hand and ask for some help?

Maybe you just need feedback on a sales page, or to talk to your audience to be sure you're building the right guide.

So now it's your turn: jump to the comments and tell us how you're going to raise your hand this week and get some help so you can grow.

What's one thing you "keep meaning to do" for your biz?

As the great Stephen Covey said: "But until a person can say deeply and honestly, 'I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,' that person cannot say, 'I choose otherwise.'" 

Steph CrowderProductivity & PlanningComment