Get tasks done by giving tasks purpose
I was asked recently, “why does every one of your tasks have a purpose written at the top?” The answer I gave changed how they managed their team overnight, Therefore I released this was a great thing to share with all of you! But we have to start with tasks and why they don’t get done.
I have had the experience of being inspired by an idea, naturally, I then scribble down all the things that need to be done and think yep this is the bee’s knees. But, then I sit down to go through that to-do list and I might get the first thing done … maybe the second, but it tails off and ends up feeling like I talk about it more than I work on it. Therefore, projects never really get off the desk and then someone builds it 2 years later and I kick myself.
The interesting thing I know this is not a flaw with my work ethic, just my tasks were not compelling enough to be done. Therefore, I realised I had to change my perspective on tasks. A good place to start was looking at where I succeeded.
I do my job so that I can pay my rent and bills.
I walk every day so that I get some exercise.
I count my calories so that I can lose weight.
What is common is 2 words “so that”, i.e. the thing that gives it purpose, so when I started my business I knew before I did anything I had to figure out what that is. And after some soul searching and spending plenty of time thinking about it I came to realise that it was, to reach financial and professional independence.
Therefore every task I created ended with “so that I can reach financial and professional independence”.
With that, I started to shape all my work this way, having statements in my emails like “Could I get that data from you so that I can help with your customer success”. My feature pages start with “We are going to build a blog platform so that our users can share their stories and increase engagement”. And to bring it back around, my tasks are titled and the first thing in the description is “Purpose: We are looking build a new system so that we can have more efficient”
But what do you get from doing this:
To encapsulate the reason I started this, tasks become more compelling and you get them done.
When working with a team, it’s a great start to communicate what is needed to be done so they are more likely to be completed.
And when you work with 3rd parties, either in work or personal, it sets expectations and aligns goals.
It is fulfilling for us as humans to want to do something, succeed at it, and have a sense of achievement. But it is hard to get started and sometimes the fear of failure kicks in. But giving purpose in the things we do is key, if that in itself resonants with us then we will be on the path to success.
