Ever find yourself drowning in a sea of tasks, unable to catch your breath? It’s a common struggle in today’s fast-paced world. But fret not! Jens Möller has crafted an emergency plan to rescue you from the chaos and help you conquer your to-do list in just 20 minutes. With his straightforward steps, you’ll learn how to set realistic goals, break them down into manageable tasks, and finally regain control of your workload. So, if you’re tired of spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast, it’s time to grab hold of this lifeline and steer yourself back on course to productivity!

We all know this: we need to plan things, set goals, check if we are on track, and make corrections along the way. But why is it that we never seem to get around to doing it? Why don’t we find the peace and quiet to concentrate, to finally “get this done”?

More often than not, the truth is, we find ourselves in this daily treadmill, chasing tasks, desperately wanting to get “this project” and “that task” finally done. But there’s always

something getting in the way, and at the end of the day, the pile is not smaller, but actually larger. We get frustrated, there’s a sense of losing control, of being exposed to an ever-increasing mountain of work to do.

In that situation, what can we actually do?

Here is Jens Möller’s emergency plan to get “it” done and out of this mess – do immediately the below 20 small steps, each will take one minute if you really focus, trust me on this:

1. Look around you. Can you focus right now? If not, leave the room. I said, leave the room! No excuses like “oh I have this meeting and that guy is waiting for xyz”. Get out of your current situation – even if that’s the toilet. Just go. If you CAN focus, keep reading.

2. Say ten times to yourself: “I want to make progress, I don’t want to be perfect.” Write that down on a piece of paper and put it somewhere you will always look at it. Use a sticky note, if need be.

3. Write down: What is the single most important thing that I MUST achieve this financial year (or right now)? Answer that question now in writing. Don’t laugh. I’m serious. And DON’T write down what you think you must DO – write down what you must ACHIEVE. What is the end result of your work that you can look at when you have achieved what you must?

4. Now write in a horizontal line month 1 to 12. Write down what you must have achieved after month 11 to make your goal after month 12 happen. Carry on backward until month 1. If you only have 5 months left this financial year, take 5 months.

5. Now write down what you must have achieved after each week of this month to make this month’s goal happen. Count backward again.

 

6. Now write down what you must have achieved after each day of this week to make this week’s goal happen. Backwards again.

7. So what’s that you MUST achieve TODAY?

8. Now, write down what you MUST DO to achieve what you must today. Nothing else, only what you MUST.

9. Take a deep breath and try to relax. Ignore what’s going on around you. Don’t grab the phone. Don’t check your emails. Don’t look at your mobile. If need be, leave this room now to stay at peace. Focus only on what you must do today.

10. Break down what you must do into the smallest steps you think are practicable to do. If, for example, you MUST run a meeting, split into setting up the agenda, choose invitees, plan date and time, etc. – you get the idea. Put the steps in circles or boxes and connect them with arrows. Don’t use your computer! Write it down.

11. Write next to each step which other step must be carried out before. If you have to rearrange the sequence, do it now. Don’t try to be perfect! Do it now.

12. Write next to each step who can carry it out.

13. For other people: immediately brief that person as follows: why is this on top of the other’s agenda for today/explain what you must do and achieve and how this plays in it. What result do you expect (what does it look like, example?) What Information, help, or resources can the other person use to make this happen? Until when exactly? Set some buffer for you to review/amend the result.

14. For your own MUST do: do the first task right now. No excuse, I said right now! And again: Don’t grab the phone. Don’t check your emails. Don’t look at your mobile. If need be, leave this room now to stay at peace. Focus only on what you must do today. Accept that there may be some chaos regarding the other tasks, remind yourself they would need to wait if you were ill – and let go. If others ask you, tell them you have to carry out one super urgent task today and make the impression that your life depends on it.

15. When you are done, take a deep breath, look at your first result of the first MUST do and tick that box in writing. Check yourself: how do you feel now? Slightly better? Good. Now, don’t slow down and move to the next action points:

16. Check first the other’s results and if there aren’t any, do the next step you can do in the meantime while your direct reports keep working on their tasks.

17. Keep doing both your tasks and ensuring the other’s results until the whole MUST do is finished. How do you feel now? Much better? Good!

18. Now, before you end your business day, check what’s landed in your inbox in the meantime. Focus ONLY on the items that require IMMEDIATE action and do it. If you cannot carry out a task, let them know as outlined above: that you had the most urgent thing in the world today and when you can help.

19. Reserve for your MUST DOs tomorrow half your day, and for all the rest the other half.

20. If that does not work, call me with high urgency at +49 881 39464046. I promise: we WILL get this sorted. Keep your chin up and tell yourself what great you have achieved today and answer yourself: do you feel more in control now? How does that feel compared to before? What can you learn from that?

Here is your Action Plan in brief Blueprint format:

 

Good luck! I am looking forward to your feedback! Write to me at info@jmoellerconsulting.com!

PS: I’m writing this on the plane, and I will arrive with the peace and quiet that I have done my MUST do for today: to help others in a messy situation when you feel you’re losing control. Please let me know: which issues and topics would you like to discuss? What do you want to know more about? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me now to explore how our tailored strategies can transform your approach to work and help you reach new heights. Reach out to us today!