The system I actually use to get the most important things done

My kid started going to daycare two mornings a week so I have huge ACRES of time to myself.

I've been watching episodes of Felicity while eating my lunch alone and it's incredible.

Plus, I like, work when he's in daycare too.

If you've heard me bang on about 'margin' before, this is what I'm talking about - getting all your most important work done AND having time to watch 90s TV of dubious quality on your phone while joyously slurping cheesy pasta before you go to daycare pickup.

It only happens if you know how to stop before everything is done. Which is a lot easier when the most important stuff is actually done, so that you can ignore everything else.

Here's how I do that. 

'Intention setting' has coaching buzzword vibes 🤮 but I do it every week and get my clients to do it too, and it works. 

By 'intention setting' I just mean 'deciding what you want to do, then checking in through the week so you actually do it.'

And I have a really quick, low-pressure, ADHD and toddler-parent friendly method that I use myself.

(The video version is posted on my instagram highlights here.) 

1. Pick the right intentions

An intention should be CONCRETE and LIMITED and MOVE YOU FORWARD on your goals.

❌ Not 'tidy up the house'
✅ But 'declutter study bookshelf'

❌ Not 'do marketing'
✅ But 'write + send 3 pitches'

2. Pick 1-5 things ONLY.

My magic number is 3 per week, but you do you.

To choose them, I ask myself 2 questions:
✨ What will make me feel really accomplished/happy/settled/safe if I get it done this week? 
✨What will make me feel really anxious/disappointed/behind if I don't get it done this week?

3. Write them down somewhere you can see them all week.

I put mine on a whiteboard in my kitchen. Three items with a lot of white space around them. I cross them off smugly as they're done. (I DO NOT ADD NEW ITEMS when they're done, I just let there be margin!)

4. Allocate them to a slot in your week.

On Sunday night or Monday morning I write a list of the days of the week that I'm working and allocate some time to each of my intentions on particular days. This helps you see if they're realistic to achieve in the time you have. And when you sit down to do stuff, you already know what to do.

5. If something more important comes up, bump one intention.

THIS IS THE MAGIC ONE DO NOT SKIP IT. 

Every time you sit down to work, check in on your intentions. Maybe one of them grew bigger than you realised, and you have to decide to either ditch it or cut another one to make space to finish it. OR maybe something more important came up. (Example: I've allocated time to create content for my business, then I get a client request some work they want returned ASAP and it's well-paid - I'd bump my own project to fit in the time-sensitive client work first.) 

When something pops up that's a higher priority, BUMP one of your intentions for the week. Don't try and squeeze it all in. If you can't bump one, it's probably a higher priority than the new thing that popped up, and you should allocate that one to next week.

And the real gold - don't worry too much about anything you haven't got written down on that whiteboard (or wherever you put it).

The reality is that the hundreds of little things that need doing each week WILL USUALLY GET DONE. You're not going to forget to buy groceries or walk the dog or answer your emails. But if you focus on the small to-dos at the expense of your intentions, the 1-5 BIG things you wanted to do are less likely to happen.

So just write down those 1-5 major intentions and try to let the rest happen on its own. Trust me.