Have you ever started your workday with a to-do list that already feels impossible?
There are emails to answer, client work to finish, invoices to send and appointments on the calendar. Somewhere mixed into that same list are all the things you’ve been meaning to do for your business—write the blog, update the website, plan next month’s marketing, review your numbers or finally work on that new idea.
The problem isn’t always that there’s too much to do. It’s that we’ve put everything on one list and made it all feel equally important.
Instead, try working from two lists: a MUST List and a Running List.
They serve two very different purposes, and separating them can completely change the way you look at your workday.
Stop playing catch up!
Your to-do list shouldn’t leave you running in circles. A MUST List and Running List can help you focus on today while keeping your bigger business goals moving forward.
Your MUST List Keeps Today Moving
Your MUST List is exactly what it sounds like: the things that truly need to happen today.
A client is waiting for a gallery. You have a session at 10:00. An invoice needs to be sent. There’s an email you need to answer. These are the things you plan to finish before the day is over.
The key is to keep this list short. If there are ten things on your MUST List, chances are they aren’t all actually MUSTS.
Before you add something, ask yourself: Does this really need to happen today?
If the answer is no, that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. It just needs somewhere else to live.
That’s where your Running List comes in.
Your Running List Is Where the Bigger Things Live
Your Running List isn’t another list you’re trying to finish.
It’s a list that moves with you from one day to the next. It’s where you keep ideas, projects and tasks you want to work on without feeling like they all need to happen right now.
This is where you keep the things you want to make progress on. The ideas you don’t want to forget. The projects that don’t have an immediate deadline but could make a meaningful difference in your business.
Maybe you want to rewrite your About page. Start blogging more often. Create a new client guide. Plan a promotion. Reach out to past clients. Look at your pricing. Work on your SEO.
None of those things may need to happen today.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t matter.
In fact, some of the things sitting on your Running List may be the things that could make the biggest difference in your business.
Your Running List Can Move the Needle
Think about your two lists this way:
Your MUST List keeps your business running.
Your Running List helps move your business forward.
You need to answer clients, deliver galleries, send invoices and show up for sessions. Those things matter. They keep your business going.
But the things that help your business grow don’t always have a deadline.
The blog you’ve been meaning to write could help someone find your website months from now. An email to past clients could lead to a booking. Looking at your pricing could help you make more from each session. Updating your website could help the next person who finds you decide to reach out.
These things are easy to put off because no one is waiting for them.
Your Running List keeps them from getting lost.
Sometimes the hardest part is knowing what your business needs from you right now. If you’ve been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like you’re constantly working without making much progress, it may be time for a business reset. I shared Signs your photography business may need a reset and how stepping back can help you decide what needs your attention next.
Don’t Just Pick the Easiest Thing
Once you’ve made your MUST List for the day, look at your Running List.
Do you have room to work on something from it today?
If you do, don’t simply choose the easiest thing to cross off. Ask yourself:
Which task on this list could make the biggest difference in my business?
The answer will depend on what your business needs right now.
Do you need more people to find you? Work on that blog or your SEO.
Have inquiries slowed down? Spend some time on your marketing or reach out to past clients.
Are you booking sessions but not making as much as you’d like? Take another look at your pricing.
Your Running List gives you choices. Your goals help you decide what to work on first.
You Don’t Have to Finish It Today
This might be one of the most important parts of the system.
Pulling something from your Running List doesn’t mean it suddenly becomes another thing you have to finish today.
Maybe you only have 30 minutes. Use them.
Write the first few paragraphs of the blog. Work on one section of your website. Outline the promotion. Review one month of numbers. Draft the email without worrying about sending it yet.
Then put the project back on your Running List and return to it when you have another block of time.
We have a tendency to wait until we have enough time to finish something before we’re willing to start it. When you run a business, that magical completely open afternoon doesn’t come around very often.
Progress doesn’t have to happen all at once.
Thirty minutes today and another thirty minutes later this week is still an hour you wouldn’t have spent moving that idea forward if you had waited for the perfect time.
Your To-Do List Shouldn’t Make Everything Feel Urgent
One of the biggest benefits of separating your tasks into these two lists is simply knowing that everything has a place.
Your MUST List tells you what needs your attention today.
Your Running List reminds you where you want to go next.
That means you don’t have to look at a giant list every morning and feel like you’re already behind. You can focus on the handful of things you’ve committed to completing while knowing that the other ideas and projects aren’t going to be forgotten.
And when you find a little extra room in your day, you don’t have to wonder what you should work on. Go back to your Running List and choose something intentionally.
Start Your Running List Today
You don’t need a new planner, app or complicated system to do this.
Grab a notebook, use the Notes app on your phone or use whatever system already works for you. Create two lists:
MUST: What needs to happen today?
RUNNING: What do I want to keep moving forward?
Tomorrow, you’ll create a new MUST List.
Your Running List comes with you.
Add ideas when you think of them. Cross things off when you finish them. Look at the list often and notice which tasks keep getting pushed aside. One of those may be the exact thing your business needs you to make time for.
Your MUST List keeps today’s business running.
Your Running List helps you build what’s next.
