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If you've ever sat down at your desk on a Monday morning, opened your to do list, or perhaps just had it spinning around your head and felt that immediate wave of overwhelm that then leads to you spending 20 minutes on social media or doing something that doesn't actually make a difference to your business, because you literally don't know where to start. This episode is all for you, and here's a bit of a hard truth for you, that endless to do list, it isn't a productivity tool. It's a decision making burden that literally drains your mental energy before you've even begun your work day, and as a consequence, you spend your days reacting to whatever feels most urgent in the moment, which means the work that actually grows your business, and the things like self care that keeps you going keep getting pushed
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to tomorrow, except tomorrow never comes. So let's dive
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into how to fix this in today's episode. Ready to break free from the solopreneur struggle. Join me as I peel back the layers to a thriving online business without the guru hype or the burnout. I'm going to show you the proven strategies and tools that I use so you can build a sustainable digital business without sacrificing your well being. Welcome to ease and impact your weekly dose of practical advice for the solo business journey wherever you're at now, I'm here to help you build a business that thrives without you burning out in the process. And today's episode is about something I'm trying out my business. For the last few weeks, I've ditched my trusty to do list and fancy apps and Apple reminders that ding on my phone about things I need to do, and I created more of a priority framework, and I actually built a little app to help me do this. I'm going to share that app with you for free as well. So if you stick with me through this episode, by the end, I'm hoping you're going to change your relationship with that to do list instead of that overwhelming monstrosity that keeps you up at night. You have a clear, structured system that tells you exactly what to focus on each day. No more decision fatigue, no more guilt about what you're not doing, no more choosing between your business and your well being. Now I need to be honest with you. What I'm about to share isn't revolutionary in the sense of some brand new discovery. You might have even tried something similar before, or maybe you heard about it years ago and forgot about it. Maybe you've implemented pieces of it but struggled to stay consistent. Well, that's exactly why I'm bringing this to you today, because sometimes getting back to basics is the best way to move forward, the problem isn't usually that we don't know what to do. The problem is we get caught up in the latest productivity hack, the newest app, the shiniest system, or forget, that simple foundational practices, when consistently applied, are actually what create the real movement and transformation in ourselves and our business. This isn't about doing more. This is about doing what actually matters in order that makes sense. So you can build a business without sacrificing yourself in the process. And here's the best bit, I've actually created a free app to help you implement this framework, because knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. So no complicated spreadsheets, no extra mental load, just a simple tool that makes this system work for you, and I'll tell you how to access it at the end of this episode, because first I want to dive into five priority framework. Sorry, no fancy names for it, but this system is specifically designed for digital entrepreneurs and coaches like myself who have a million things swirling in their heads. And the beautiful part is it's simple. Here's the core principle that makes this whole thing work. You cannot move to priority two until all priority one tasks are complete. That's it. Well, for the most part, it's the whole system in one sentence. But within that simplicity is where the magic happens. So let me break it down for you. We start with priority one. This is where most entrepreneurs go wrong. Priority One contains two types of tasks, the direct revenue generating activities, and your non negotiable self care. Yep, I'm in your workout, your meditation, your healthy meals, your sleep. These aren't nice to haves that you do if you have time left over, they're priority one, right alongside your client deliverables and anything that leads to sales. Why? Because if you burn out your business stops, full stop, self care is business critical for entrepreneurs. You've probably heard it before. You cannot pour from an empty cup. This isn't fluffy wellness talk. This is just strategically planning your business. Because if you think about it this way, would you run a marathon without training? I would die. Would you drive your car without ever changing the oil? Of course, not. But every day, entrepreneurs. Days, and I used to be one of them expect themselves to perform at high levels while running on five hours of sleep, skipping meals, doing zero movement, and then they wonder why they hit a wall. So Priority One includes direct revenue generating activities, urgent client activities with, you know, actual deadlines, time sensitive business opportunities and all your self care, non negotiables. Now here's the key priority one should take approximately 60% of your available work time, not 100% not 80% and if you're consistently unable to move beyond priority one, you don't have a time management problem. You probably have a priority one overload problem. Now, once and only once, your priority one items are complete for the day, you move to priority two. This is where your scheduled client activities with flexible timelines live. Or if you don't have one to one clients, maybe this is where you put your group or community related tasks for people who are in your programs. These things are important, they matter, they're not urgent, and that's the distinction. So the rule is simple. You only move to priority two once all priority one are complete for the day. This forces you to be honest with yourself about what's truly critical. Priority three is often a place where entrepreneurs mistakenly spend too much of their time. This is your training and skill development, Systems Improvement, content creation, marketing activities, strategy. These are activities that make you money in the future or perhaps prevent future problems, and they are important to growth. But here's the thing, if you're spending all your time here while neglecting priority one, well, you have some great systems and content out there, but no money's coming in now. Priority four is all your kind of reactive work, like paying bills or sending stuff up to your accountant email processing any sort of quick administrative wins. Many entrepreneurs get stuck in their inbox because they treat all communication as equally urgent. Buy was one, but for me, it was more like seeing the number of emails that needed actioning. It does my head in and you just want it to go away, so you focus on that stuff first. Now, if this is you like me, I recommend listening to Episode 29 and turn off all your notifications. I know that sounds extreme, but this has been life changing for me. But the problem is, if you start your day with email, then four hours later, you're still there, feeling busy, but having accomplished nothing, that actually moves your business forward. So priority four separates reactive communication work from proactive business work. It gives you permission to batch this stuff and handle it when priority one and two items are managed. Now priority five, this is everything where your business would survive if you really never completed. It nice to have tasks, you know, personal decisions, researching purchases of new gear, hobby projects. These are bonus items that you can tackle when priorities one to four are managed, but they shouldn't create stress or guilt if left undone. In fact, the mere existence of priority five is almost like a pressure release valve, like the one I have on my Insta pot, but basically it gives your brain permission to put things somewhere without the weight of obligation. Now some of you might be thinking, Yeah, this sounds great in theory, but how do I actually decide what goes where? Well, great question. Here's how you figure it out when you have a task and you don't know where it belongs, ask yourself these questions in order, is this essential for my health and well being? If yes, it's priority one, your workout, your meditation, preparing healthy meals, getting adequate sleep, these aren't negotiable. Did a client or customer request this with a deadline? If it's urgent within 24 to 48 hours, then priority one, if it's still important but not urgent. Priority two, will this make me money in the future or prevent future problems? If yes, then priority three, you know, learning a new skill, creating content, future focused work. And question five, is this reactive communication or administrative maintenance? If yes, priority four, emails, bills, bookkeeping, follow up, maintenance. And question six, would my business survive if I never did this? If no, go back and reassess using questions one through five, if yes, it would survive just fine. Then it's priority five. Now, these questions are designed to take the guesswork out of you categorizing. You're not relying on how you feel or what seems most urgent in the moment. You're using objective criteria to make decisions, and the free app that I spoke about earlier is going to help you categorize these all into a clean format that you can work with, because again, knowing this framework and implementing it consistently are two different things, and this app bridges that gap, but now you've categorized everything. Now what? How do you make it work daily and weekly? Well, at the end of each day, ask yourself these questions, did I finish all the priority one? Why didn't I finish priority one? Was it too many items? Perhaps be more. Elective tomorrow, or did you underestimate the time? Honestly, I do this all the time, and I'm still working on it, but improving your your time estimation.
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Did you get distracted? Then?
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Obviously, there's some, some boundary issues where your expectations unrealistic. I occasionally do this as well, you know, and you got to try and recalibrate to what's actually possible. But second, is anything in priority two becoming urgent? Because if yes, you need to move it to priority one for tomorrow. If no, it can wait to stay focused. And third, what's one win I can celebrate from today? This isn't fluff. It's actually a brain science thing. Acknowledging the progress maintains motivation and your brain needs the evidence that this is working. Then once a week, perhaps a Sunday evening or Monday morning, set aside 10 to 20 minutes for a weekly planning session. I do mine on Monday morning. Do a brain dump. Get everything out of your head onto paper, every single thing that's taking up mental space. Then you categorize it. Use those questions I mentioned to place each item into Priority One through five, then you can do a bit of a reality check. Does your list in Priority One feel achievable in 60 to 70% of your work time? If not, then you might have to adjust move some items to lower priorities. And here's a bit of a extra tip, consider designating one day. So for me, that's a Thursday. This Friday is often a personal errand kind of day, and use this for catching up on priority two through four items. This creates breathing room in your week. It also means you can focus the first part of your week on all that priority one content. But if you consistently fail to reach priority two, then that's definitely a sign that you're overloading priority one. But this is all where basics really shine. It's not fancy, it's not complicated, but it works if you actually do it, and that's where most people struggle, not with understanding the system, but with consistent implementation. That's exactly why having support, whether it's an app, an accountability partner, a group membership, regular reminders, that makes all the difference. But before we wrap up, I want to go into some key principles for you to remember. The first is flexibility over rigidity. So this system should serve you, not cage you. Sometimes a priority two item becomes urgent mid week and needs to move to priority one. And that's completely okay. Also, personal things are going to come up, especially if you have kids, and you might have to drop everything to go and deal with that, and that's why having your backup day is important. But this framework gives you structure so you can still make those judgment calls. You're a human, you're running a business. You're not just AI or a robot executing commands. Second is self care is not selfish. You've probably heard it, but you know what? I think we need to repeat it more and more to each other, because it's that important. Your health activities belong in Priority One, because you cannot build or sustain a business on an unsustainable lifestyle period. Next, less is more. If you're not reaching priority two regularly, you don't have a priority two problem. You have a priority one problem. You're trying to do too much. The answer isn't work harder to be more productive. The answer is to be more selective about what deserves your priority, one attention, or perhaps it's time for a VA. And if that's the case, you should listen to episode 11, which is how and when to hire your first virtual assistant. Done is better than perfect. The goal here is progress, focus, not perfection. Some weeks will go as planned. Others won't, and that's fine. This framework helps you to make intentional choices about where to focus your limited time and energy. Now, remember getting back to basics moves you forward. Look, I get it. There's always going to be something new to grab your attention, some new AI tools, some guru telling you their method is the one that's going to change everything, and maybe some of those things are genuinely helpful, but more often than not, what we really need isn't something new and shiny. It's to get back to fundamentals and actually just do them. So here's what I want you to do after this episode. First grab the free app I created specifically for this framework, you'll find a link to sign up right below in the Episode show notes. It's going to make implementing this so much easier, no complicated setup, no learning curve, just a straightforward tool that helps you take your brain dump and categorize and focus on what matters. But here's the thing you might have heard about prioritization before you might have even tried something similar, then just let it slip away. That doesn't mean you failed. It means you're human. What matters now is giving yourself the support you need to implement this consistently, and that's exactly why I created this into an app, so it was nice and easy for you to use so you can stay focused. Remember, the five priority framework isn't about doing more, it's about doing what matters most consistently without burning out, which is what we're all about here at the ease and impact podcast. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do if your business is strip away some complexity and get back to what actually works. So if you have any questions about implementing this framework, or if you're struggling with how to categorize certain tasks, you know, drop it in. The comments below, or even send me an email. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. Go and grab that free app and keep creating impact with ease.
