Do This Gut-Check With Your To-Do List

It’s official!

It’s been one year since I became a full-time entrepreneur! Do you believe it? Wow!

In that time I’ve really honed in on what I really want to do in my business and what I can best leave to others.

I also launched a new website for my media strategy and training services at PaulaRizzo.com to let the world know what I’m doing! And I’m really proud of it.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in this year is to do what I call a “gut-check move.”

That’s made all the difference for me and it’s something you can do with your to-do list today!

Checking in on your to do list isn’t just about changing your schedule, but also critically thinking about the tasks themselves.

Do I like this task?

This may seem a little obvious, but sometimes your pride can cloud your judgement.

You take on tasks you hate because you feel like you ‘should’ do them. I get it.

I’ve made a habit throughout the year whenever I finish a task, whether it be writing a script for a client or running a video shoot, teaching a workshop or paying my bills, to check in with myself right after I finish the task.

I ask myself how that task makes me feel.

Do I love doing it?

Am I all fired up and excited and get a high from it?

Or do I feel like it’s completely drained me and I never want to do it again?

So often we forget to check in with ourselves and then end up doing tasks that we really don’t like again and again because we can do them.

Here’s how I keep myself accountable to the answers I get from my gut check. Accountability is very important when it comes to this.

1. Make a list: I make a list of the tasks that I’m doing and how I feel after I do them. That way I can refer back to remind myself because so often we just go back to doing things the same old way. Plus this forces me to think through adding anything new to my plate based on how I feel about it. If I love it – I find more ways to get it on my calendar. If I don’t – not so much!

2. Call a Friend:  This gut check can be done by calling a friend or leaving them a message. I found that this is very valuable to because then people will remind you that you liked or didn’t like that kind of task the next time you bring it up.

Bonus points if you download and use my new favorite app to do this – Marco Polo. I love it because it’s a video walkie talkie so you can see friends face to face and it’s been helping me to keep in touch much better.

So here’s my challenge for you this week. Every single time you do a task. Stop and pause afterwards and check in with yourself to see how it felt.

Do you really love it? Should you continue to put it on your list? Is it something you can outsource? Or maybe you should cross off it off your list for good.