A Cut-Throat Approach To Dealing With A Backlog

by Glenn Fisher

The second week of each month is always my busiest...

For the first week, apart from writing to you each day, I close myself off as much as possible to work on the monthly issue of Shortcut Confidential.

Naturally, things pop up that I need to deal with...

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But I do my best to follow a system I picked up from Rich Schefren a couple of years back.

You can read my original article on it here - How To Handle A Heavy Workload More Efficiently

If you’re not familiar with this system, the theory is simple, but putting it into practice can be tricky.

You see, the problem is if you concentrate on something for one week, sure you get it done, but the week after you have a pile of stuff that you haven’t dealt with.

And in real-life, let’s face it, it’s difficult to put off stuff week after week.

And staring at that backlog... it’s depressing, right?

So, how’d you deal with it?

A cut-throat approach to dealing with a backlog

Yup, I propose a bit of a cut-throat approach.

And it’s a bit experimental.

But I want to see how it works out.

To be most effective, I think it needs to be simple.

Seriously simple.

And you need to be pretty strict with it.

So, I suggest two ‘rules’ or rather, questions, that should override your thinking.

The first:

Does it need to be done today?

Go through your backlog of work and ask does it need to be done today?

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Be honest.

If it really must be done that day, then mark it as priority.

But if it doesn’t need doing that day, set it aside. (But only for the time being - you still might be able to get round to some of these things.)

So, now you’ll have a list of things that must be done that day.

Now, one by one, you need to work through these.

But how you prioritise these jobs should depend on your ultimate goal.

That’s the second question:

Does it relate to my ultimate goal?

If it does, then make that a priority.

For example, if your goal is to start your own online business, then any jobs that relate to starting a business and need doing that day should be made a priority.

A job that needs doing that day but doesn’t relate to your ultimate goal should come further down the line.

You can pick up the wine for that evening’s dinner party last. (Unless, of course, your ultimate goal is to organise a dinner party!)

By the afternoon, you’ll have an idea of the jobs you’ve done and what you’ve got left.

Of course, you might well have finished all the jobs that needed doing that day.

Grand.

In that case, of your remaining backlog jobs you should approach them as though it was the next day.

Go through the same process. With all your remaining backlog jobs ask... What needs doing that day? What relates most to your ultimate goal?

Working through them in this structured and effective way, you’ll soon be clear.

But if you get to the middle of the afternoon and it’s obvious that you’re not going to get everything done...

Well, you’ve got a problem.

Let’s deal with...

First, carry on as you are.

At this point you’ve already got a clear assessment of the priority of the jobs you’ve got to do that day and which most relate to your goal.

Stick with that.

But sadly, your backlog is never going to magically disappear.

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Fact is, those backlog jobs that don’t get done are going to have to roll over to the next day.

But by having approached the jobs in order of what has to be done and what most relates to your ultimate goal, then on the upside you are at least moving forward.

You’re dealing with the most urgent items.

Rather than trying to deal with a depressing mess of assorted jobs nagging at you, you’ll naturally work through the most important and be able to take some comfort in that.

OK. That’s the plan.

So, give this a go and be as cut-throat as you can be.

I’m going to put the same theory into practice with the jobs I’ve got to deal with and we’ll see how we’re doing come the end of the week.