CAREERS: A 3-step process to get your “gotta do” work done

Editor’s note: In this issue, we debut a new monthly contributing editor: career coach and speaker Ben Fanning of Charleston. You might remember Ben from a Dec. 21 Focus piece on why it’s important to reflect to close out the year powerfully. Every month, he’ll offer thoughts on things you can do to energize your career. Welcome, Ben!

By Ben Fanning, contributing editor | Ever struggle to get your most important work done? Maybe even find it rolling from one to-do list to the next without ever making much progress?

Fanning

When I tackled the “gotta do” work of writing my #1 bestselling book, The Quit Alternative, there were lots of days I didn’t want to write. This important work could have dragged on for years because there was always plenty of other work to distract me.

What I realized though is that my “gotta do” work was my highest value and highest impact work. Although it was tough and not always fun, it was crucial to discover a way to complete the “gotta do” work with consistent high quality and efficiency … without burning myself out.

My personal process is what I want to share with you today. It can help you achieve more personal success as well as perform better within your company.

When you procrastinate your “gotta do” work, you procrastinate success

So let’s first take a look at what “gotta do” work is. It’s the work that’s:

• Challenging and a little painful…because that’s where you’re growing most.
• Where there may not be a proven game plan to execute yet…so it can be a little messy.
• Takes a big investment of energy…but it’s adding value to your job, business, or organization.
• Feels risky…but with high risk can come high reward.
• Sometimes boring and monotonous…which is a place or process in desperate need of innovation.
• Gets tougher the longer you put it off.

The big difference between “gotta do” work and everything else on your to-do list is VALUE. “Gotta do” work delivers value to the organization, your manager, and you. The higher the value, the more “gotta do” it becomes.

Examples of “gotta do” work are that next milestone of your big project, the difficult feedback conversation you have been putting off for weeks with your employee, or figuring out a better way to generate that manual report you must create each month.

The benefits of having a process to tackle your “gotta do” work

The good news here is that when you develop a personal process for your “gotta do” work, you discover the important impact it makes.

• It helps you move on to the work you’re looking forward to. “Now that’s out of the way, I’m ready to get on to that fun side project of mine.”
• It adds value to your team and organization. Desire and initiative to tackle gotta do work is scarce, thus valuable.
• It gives you an edge because most people procrastinate on gotta do work…and you’re getting yours done consistently.
• It feels great…afterwards! You might find yourself saying afterwards, “Yeehaa! or at least “Whew!”

Most importantly though is that it builds momentum for long-term success. “Wow, I did that! Now what else could I do?”

Three simple steps to tackle your “gotta do” work

Here’s my process that you can implement for yourself within two minutes of finishing this article:

Step 1: Determine your “gotta do” work

Ask yourself: “What’s my most important, highest yield work of the day?” This question helps you prioritize one thing each day and ensures you’re taking care of the thing at work or in your personal life. It could be finishing a report that’s about to be late.

Step 2: Make your next step actionable

Once you’ve finished the step of determining your highest yield work activity of the day, your mission on this step is to go from ambiguity to clarity. By moving from the macro big picture…which can lead to being overwhelmed, to the micro small step. Write this down on a sticky note so you’ll remember later. Ask “what’s the most important thing I should be working on, and what is the next action I should take?”

• Instead of calling your customer, your next step could be…type in the company on LinkedIn and identify two to three decision-makers.
• Instead of tackling your next project milestone alone, try “find your project timeline on your computer and list two to three people who could help you complete your next step.

Step 3: Do it first thing

Don’t leave to chance when you are going to knock out your most important work. The easiest way for most people to make this happen is the part of their day they can consistently control…when they first wake up. Even if you’re not a morning person these first few magical minutes are you bastion of getting that next “gotta do” step done to advance and grow.

Now it’s your turn. So what’s your “gotta do” work today? Make it actionable! Then get it done! Note how this builds momentum in your day.