*incoming call from Sunshine Daycare*

You answer. Your child has a fever again. For what feels like the 10th time this month. 

*a friend texts you, they’re going to be in town for the week unexpectedly*

You scramble to check your calendar and see when you have time to see them. 

*teacher sends a reminder message that the students are off on Monday*

You didn’t remember. You didn’t put this on your calendar. How can the kids possibly have another day off?!

As a human, business owner, mom, and whatever other titles you may hold, there are so many things that are outside your circle of control. 

But you still have sh*t that needs to get done. 

Soooo how do you make sure when you sit down to use some of your precious work time, you’re working on the right tasks?

✨Prioritization✨

Though it might sound simple, it really is THE thing that can help you choose priorities when your week doesn’t go as you planned or expected. 

Here are a few ways to help you choose what you work on first. 

A Simple System for Choosing Priorities as a Business Owner with ADHD (When Your Week Doesn’t Go Like You Planned)

Brain Dump

Start with a Brain Dump – capture alllllll the things floating around inside your head. It doesn’t need to be pretty. 

Maybe you have a project management system where you already have your tasks listed, but you have other things floating around your head. Or maybe you have a stream of random thoughts in your Notes app. And then more to-do’s on a sticky note on your nightstand. 

The point of a brain dump is to get everything in one place for the week or day (whatever time period is currently feeling like crunch time). 

Depending on what’s going on, you may add personal tasks to this list, because after all, you’re juggling life and business. Adding all of your tasks to one list will help you see the big picture.

The last step of any brain dump is to add hard deadlines where they apply – not self imposed deadlines or ideal deadlines. Only deadlines where you’ve promised a certain delivery date to a client or other important relationship. 

Delegate or Outsource

After a brain dump, your next step is to ask yourself: what can be delegated or outsourced? And I know, easier said than done. But it’s important! As business owners, we convince ourselves we can do everything. And while you might actually be able to do it all, it doesn’t always mean you should. 

So, look at your list and ask yourself: What on your list doesn’t HAVE to be done by you?

Do you have a VA who can reply to a few emails?

Can you do an Instacart order to get groceries? (Sometimes we forget that little things like this add up in HUGE ways!)

Ask your partner to drop off the library books? 

If you are in a place of survival, release a little control (even temporarily) so you can keep showing up as the human and business owner you want to be. 

Prioritize

Once you’ve decided what can be delegated or outsourced, it’s time to prioritize the tasks that HAVE to be done by you! There’s a few options for how to do this:

Prioritization Option One: Categorize Your Tasks

For this method, your three categories are going to be: minimum, satisfactory, and perfection. 

→ MINIMUM: At a bare minimum, these tasks need to get done. These should be things you’re getting paid for!

For example, this might be client deliverables, things you’ve already put off, etc. 

→ SATISFACTORY: Ideally, these get done too. These are often pieces that work towards client deliverables, business maintenance, etc.  

For example, this might be future communication, lead follow-up, your weekly newsletter, etc. 

→ PERFECTION: Tasks that don’t need to get done this week (or sometimes ever). Things like social media, business revamping or cleaning up, bonus tasks, etc. . 

At a bare MINIMUM, your minimum list needs to be cleared. These tasks ensure that you’re not letting your clients down which would impact your business in the future. 

Once that list is cleared, you can move on to your SATISFACTORY list. But maybe you don’t. And that’s ok. 

You’ll end the week or day knowing that you delivered on what you needed to to survive this moment. 

Prioritization Option Two: Must Do and May Do

This option only sorts your tasks into two categories. 

→ Must Do: the tasks that must get done

These are typically the tasks with hard deadlines, client deliverables, etc. 

→ May Do: these are the bonus tasks – things that are still productive, but aren’t essential

This is a great option if you’re trying to get through a challenging week. Each evening, look at your brain dump list. Choose 2-3 Must Do tasks for the following day. 

Or, if you have the time and brain space, map out 2-3 Must Do tasks for each day of the week. 

This way you can see the big picture and make adjustments as the week goes on in order to ensure you clear your Must Do list. 

Give Yourself Permission to Do Less (and Do It Well)

For any prioritization method to work, you have to be honest with yourself. 

Self-imposed priorities have to drop. Not everything can be a glass ball. If everything is always a priority, you will quickly burn yourself out. 

You can also use either of these strategies even when life hasn’t thrown you a curve ball. One of my clients has her lists in ClickUp sorted as Minimum, Satisfactory and Perfection. 

Because the reality of being a human and business owner is that something will always come up. The quicker you can adapt your systems and use your tools to support you, the less you’ll notice any disruption that life throws your way. 

So go ahead and take a look at your week and ask yourself: What’s actually essential and what can wait?

And if you want support building a system that helps you answer that question faster (and with less stress), my DMs are open or you can find me here!