By Michael W.Roberts, Inbound Marketer

When starting out the day, the sheer amount of stuff that needs to be accomplished can feel overwhelming…

But, usually, a closer look will reveal that not everything needs to be done today. (Even if it did, it's not possible, anyway.) What's needed is some organization.

I'll pause here to say that this is where I have an internal struggle. My every inclination is to jump in and start accomplishing tasks. I have this wishful thinking that I can get everything done if I just push hard enough throughout the day, but there will always be more to do. The entire purpose of using organizational systems like Azendoo is to help figure out what tasks are most important for the day. I hate getting to the end of the day and feeling like I didn't accomplish anything. And, if you're reading a blog post on a website about an organizational tool, I'm sure you do, too.

Looking at the Big Picture

In order to force myself to stay focused, I've set aside time in my schedule into two main camps: planning and doing. Yeah, it's simple, but simple really helps in the face of overwhelm.

Drilling down further, planning for me involves long-term strategy and project management, and"doing" breaks down into writing and production (the sort of "everything else" category).

All of these modes of work are very different to me, and each has its own rhythm. When it's production time, I put on the energetic music, and I crank through the tasks before me. The last thing I want to do at that moment is stop to think which strategy will best suit the project. That part of the process needs to already be completed so I can knock this stuff out.

Knowing that I will have a focused production time (and a planning time to keep all the details in check) makes it more likely that I will keep the discipline to write on a daily basis. I am more able to fight the tendency to jump to other tasks while writing.

Planning Mode

One of the key thought processes I go through on a regular basis is to think about what I can uniquely bring to my work environment. I'm fortunate enough to work with a number of talented people, both in the offices here in New Orleans and around the United States. By focusing on what I can bring to the table, I can then route the tasks that aren't as essential for me to address to the right people. This one action is a huge relief - not only because I'm lightening my workload but I'm also getting the work load out to the people who can handle it best.

Once I get past the overarching strategy, I can really focus on project management. This is one of the spots in my workflow where Azendoo becomes essential.

I use the Subject feature relentlessly to keep up with all of our projects.

We work with surgical practices around the United States, and each has an inbound marketing campaign that's a bit different. We try to do similar work since we've found some of the baseline tasks that help practices stand out in search engines, but every practice has its own personality and set of specialties.

Whenever we start up a new campaign, I go into Azendoo and list out all the tasks that we need to achieve. I set tentative dates and assign the person responsible. I pin some of the most important subjects to the sidebar to ensure that I'm regularly checking in on their progress, and I'm ready to jump into Doing mode.

Doing Mode

Once the strategy stuff is out of the way, it can be a relief to be able to just focus on the tasks that need to be accomplished for the day. I really enjoy looking at an overall strategy, but it's the tactical work that most often helps me feel that I actually did something that day.

If I've done my planning correctly, then I already have files attached to my tasks from Evernote and Google Drive. I should have all of the resources I need to be able to get stuff done. The only thing left to do is turn on the appropriate playlist.

Written by Michael W.Roberts, Inbound Marketer.

Inbound marketer, indie art / music junkie from the beautiful city of New Orleans. Spent several years working for nonprofits and now enjoying agency life. Be sure to connect with him on twitter @michaelwroberts and at michaelwroberts.com !