If you are at all similar to me, you probably have a huge list of things that you need to get done at the beginning of your new online business. There were a lot of times when that looming list actually kept me from taking action on anything. I would only stare at the list and fret about what I should do next. I would often add five more items to the list before I would even make an effort to make progress on any of them. I would have gotten as much done if I had read a chapter in a favorite novel.

Here are a few things that I have implemented to make my list actually help me reach my objectives.

First, call your overgrown list a master list.

Rearrange all of the items in your list so that they are grouped as categories of similar tasks. Give each category a name. A category might contain jobs related to you web site, itself. A different one might deal with changes you want to make to your website design. Another might pertain to creating an integrated marketing campaign

Carefully go through your list, evaluating each item based upon its likelihood of positively impacting your short term cash flow. Mark any item that meets that standard with a plus sign or a star (an asterisk) so that the item stands out from the other items in the category. I do not mean to imply that you should not be worrying about long term goals. In a new business, though, most small business owners need to establish a positive cash flow as soon as possible.

Copy one of the highlighted items from each of the various sub-divisions you have created until you come up with a number that feels comfortable (and not intimidating) to you. You paste those selected tasks onto a new list, which you can call the Urgent List or the Do Now List. The number of items on that list should never exceed six or seven. I find that five works best for me.

Get to work on your Do Now List. If something important occurs to you while you’re working, do not add it to the short list. Instead, immediately put it into the master list, in the appropriate category, with a star if that is appropriate. Now get back to work.

Once you have completed the five or so tasks on your list, go back to the master list and select five more tasks. Do not start working on that new list, yet. Instead, reward yourself for all your had work with something you enjoy. Get a cup of coffee, play with the dog for ten minutes, or put your feet up an think about your last vacation. Set a timer to make sure that you do not get carried away, though. Afterwards, you should feel refreshed enough to attack your new Do Now List.

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