Extra! Extra!

One of the most difficult things for many people who work from home is taming their to-do list. So many things get added to the list each day—from necessary projects to things that would be nice to accomplish someday—that it's easy to get overwhelmed and lose any sense of what you really ought to be doing with your day.

I solved this problem by adopting a sorting method I learned while working as a newspaper editor and designer. It's based on the ranking system we used for putting stories in the paper: Must, Should, Can-Hold and Likes.

It's a simple method of sorting your to-dos in vague order of importance, so you know what needs to be tackled today and what can easily be put off – maybe even indefinitely.

The Musts

A "must," as the name implies, is something that absolutely has to be done today:

• Work on a project with a deadline that's looming.
• Appointments that have to be kept.
• Phone calls or emails that must be dealt with today.

At the paper, these were the top stories, things we had to get in no matter what. In life, they're the things that are crucial to the smooth running of your business and tasks necessary to keep your clients happy.

The Shoulds

At the paper, shoulds were stories that were important but could be left out of the paper if we didn't have room for them.

In my at-home business life, shoulds are the things it would be nice to get done, but the world won't come to an end if I don't get to them, such as:

• Starting or working on projects without pressing deadlines.
• Making appointments that aren't pressing.
• Running errands that could wait until another day.

The Can-Holds

At the paper, a can-hold was a story that would keep to another day later in the week. These were of the lowest priority and often didn't make it in.

It's the same on the list. Can-holds are things that don't have to be done today, tomorrow, or maybe even ever. As you look at your list, you may find there are items on it you don't really want to do, but you feel like you "should" do them for some reason.

But you might not really have time for these items, and they may not actually help you build your business or bring you any joy. In that case, these can hold forever and drop off your list without any guilt.

The Likes

At the paper different editors would flag stories they liked, which was code for "this might not be news, but get it in the paper anyway."

On your to-do list, there should always be room for a like or two. These are things that make you happy, refuel your fire for your business or are just plain fun. You might not have time for likes every day, but try to fit in one or two a week and watch your productivity and enjoyment soar.