Struggling to finish your to-do list? A better way to organize

By David Finkel |

Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve been a sucker for a good to-do list. There is something so satisfying about writing down all the tasks that I plan to do for the day and then marking them off one by one as I complete them. But, if you are like most business owners, that feeling is often short-lived. You start the day with a reasonable to-do list and by the end of the day it has grown to 20 or 30 items and very few are actually completed. Sound familiar?

If you struggle with finishing your to-do list, I would like to share two rules that I find to be extremely helpful in my own coaching business and daily life.

Working above the line

Every time you scratch an item off of your to-do list, you get a little rush of dopamine. It feels good to accomplish something. And, by instinct, you crave those little moments of accomplishment. So choosing the easy tasks that don’t move the needle are often the first tasks we gravitate toward. But those aren’t usually the ones that will move the needle on our business and help us reach our long-term goals.

To combat that instinct, I take a few moments every morning to organize my to-do list. Choosing the three things that are the most important tasks for the day, I call these my “above-the-line” tasks. If I get nothing else done on my list that day, I know that tackling those top three will make the biggest impact.

You can draw a line under them to visually mark them as special and different, or, if you use a digital task organizer, you can annotate them with a special color.

Live by the results

My second rule for organizing my day is something I call “live by the results.” This is the rule that by 10:30 I will have either completed the three things at the top of my to-do list or set up appointments/meetings to address those tasks. This helps me stay focused and make sure that I am putting my best time and attention toward the things that matter most. And generally speaking, the urgent fires that pop up in business happen more frequently as the day progresses. So getting the most important to-do items done before the fires start will go a long way to helping you be more productive.

This rule coupled with my scheduled focus times has made a huge impact not only in my own business but in the lives of thousands of business owners over the years.

Everything else

Once you have the first three items taken care of, what about the other 17 or so items on your to-do list? Should you keep working through your list? Yes ... and no. Some of those items will still need to be done. And some of those items may not need to be there at all. They may be better suited for another member on your team or, in a lot of cases, they may not need to be done at all. If it doesn’t help move the needle, you should at least ask yourself: “Is it really worth it?” If the answer is no, and it can be taken off of your list, remove it. If it still needs to be done, but could be done by someone else, delegate the task and take it off your plate.

At first, these rules may be a little difficult to adjust to, but once you get used to focusing your time and attention it will get easier and easier and the results will speak for themselves.

Are you one of the millions of Americans who have invested some of their 401(k) plan money in target date funds? If so, perhaps you should take a closer look at what is inside the fund.

That’s the conclusion of Ron Surz, a pension consultant and longtime critic of these funds, because of the risks they present to those in or close to retirement. He calls target date funds “a bomb waiting to be detonated by the next market correction.”

The concept of target date funds has long been appealing to 401(k) plan participants: Just choose your presumed year of retirement and let the “pros” decide how much money you should have in stocks vs. bonds, and which categories of stocks should be included. This system is supposed to give peace of mind, despite the ups and downs of the markets.

In fact, many companies use target date funds as the “default” option when employees sign up for the 401(k) plan, calling them a safe and efficient way for inexperienced investors to build a retirement account. As a result, there is now more than $3 trillion of retirement money invested in target date funds.

Here’s how they work:

In a target date fund, the percentage mix of stock and bond exposure changes to become supposedly more conservative as you near retirement. But not all target date funds have the same allocation percentages.

For example, in funds for target retirement year 2025, the investment mix may range from stocks/ bonds to a larger or lesser percentage of stock exposure. It all depends on the judgment of the money management firm sponsoring the fund.

Surz notes the federal Thrift Savings Plan uses target date funds with no more than 30% in risky assets at retirement, compared to the 401(k) plan offerings of major mutual fund companies with higher stock exposure.

Another concern: Most target date funds are designed to get you to retirement — but not through it. That fixed allocation percentage at your retirement date will stay the same for the rest of your life.

We will only know in hindsight which fund’s model was better. But the real concern is that with a high exposure to stocks, a bear market early in someone’s retirement could wipe out enough assets to impact their ability to withdraw enough money over their remaining lifetime.

On the other hand, over the long run, stock market exposure will protect against the ravages of inflation. And bonds can be risky, too, if inflation causes higher interest rates and lower bond prices.

Michael Falk, a CFA and expert on retirement planning, is another target date fund critic, calling them “a marketing solution masquerading as an investment solution.” He says the funds only add fees and complexity to the planning process — dismissing them only as “better than nothing.”

Falk points out that target date funds operate on the principle that “one size fits many.” But for individuals approaching retirement there is a wide variation: whether they will retire early, on time, or late; the life expectancy of each retiree; and the risk tolerance and self-discipline of each individual.

He suggests you could do better than a target date fund by creating a portfolio using low-cost index funds — and rebalancing regularly. Or, he notes, you could simply buy a low-cost fund that does that for you — such as the Vanguard Balanced Index fund.

And Falk also worries about the relative riskiness of bonds these days, locking in low interest rates for the long term. An alternative plan, he suggests, is dividing your assets 75% in conservative, dividend-paying stocks and 25% in low-yielding cash. That strategy avoids the risks of bonds entirely.

No one knows for sure what the stock market will do in any given year. But this is your money, not investment theory. So, the one thing you should do immediately is examine the allocation in your target date fund and decide if it makes you uncomfortable. Perhaps move some to a low-yielding but no-risk money market fund.

You’ll sleep better at night, which is important in retirement. And that’s the Savage Truth.

Terry responds to questions on her blog at TerrySavage.com.