Michelle Rodger: Why it is essential to keep on top of your 'not to do' list

TO DO or not to do? That's the question you should be asking. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the mammoth list of tasks required in business, and there can't be many entrepreneurs who finish their day having completed everything on their "to do" list.

Picking up the same list every day, increasingly adding more jobs than you cross off, can become an endless, monotonous, damaging cycle.

And that's when procrastination sets in. You pick the easy tasks, the fun jobs or the ones you enjoy doing the most; and the harder, more challenging, business-building, profit-generating or finicky tasks are often left until last. I defy anyone in business to say they aren't guilty of this at some point.

Time management experts recommend special tools to help you manage your day more effectively, but I haven't yet found one that identifies the black holes of time that swallow your working day, removes them and helps you jump-start your productivity.

What you need is to write a "not to do" list before you even contemplate your "to do" list. Being aware of what to avoid automatically focuses your energy on the things you need to do - combining "not to do" with "to do" (and possibly even a "to do later") should effectively maximise your performance and ultimately that of your business.

I must warn, however, it's not as easy as it sounds. Entrepreneurs tend to believe they can do everything, but attempting to do everything yourself is the number-one time-waster.

Pareto's Principle applies here: 80 per cent of your tasks will be relatively unimportant tasks but will take up the majority of your time, leaving the vital 20 per cent languishing on the list.

So slash the 80 per cent off your list, delegate them to someone else, and instead focus on the high-value 20 per cent: the tasks that will make a real difference to your business.

It sounds simple enough, but few get it right, and business coach and speaker Iain Scott warns that mismanaging "to do" lists - or not having "not to do" lists - can actually hamper your business growth.

You need to set your targets, prioritise and then carefully analyse your "to do" list. Scott suggests you take a red pen and circle all the things that keep recurring - those tasks that you never get done - and identify whether or not they are truly important for the business.

If they are, is it important that you do them, or could you pass them to someone else in the organisation? Or are you in fact just running away from the hard stuff, avoiding the unpleasant and unenjoyable?

"What's good for you is not necessarily good for the business," says Scott. "The things you like doing aren't always the things the business needs.

"If you find you are putting off stuff you don't want to do, you've got to ask yourself why.Is it too unpleasant and you don't want to confront it? Or is this a thing you really just can't be arsed with? Perhaps it's time to start thinking about who else could do that for you.

"If you find you're putting off stuff you don't want to do, you are, in all probability, putting off growing your business."

There are all sorts of things we do rather than remain focused on the important tasks. The number-two time-waster is thinking you have to do everything immediately, such as replying to every e-mail when it pings into your inbox and answering the phone as soon as it starts to ring.

Business and life coach Kirsty Mac says you mustn't jump at every flash of light from your smartphone. Stay in the moment and turn off your "CrackBerry". Check e-mails twice a day maximum.

Social media is another black hole that swallows your time. While social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook might have a relevant and justifiable priority on your "to do" list, it's all too easy to start following a thread and lose an hour. Or three.

As Scott says, if you don't get a grip of your "not to do" list then you are simply damaging the growth potential of your business.