Do you ever get the feeling you’re never quite getting to the end of your work? Or perhaps a task you hoped to start on Monday still feels no closer on Friday on the account of so many other things getting in the way? Yeah, me too.

In my daytime work, there are things that are still bubbling in the way in the background that I’d love to get done but many daily and monthly responsibilities, letdowns by other people you have to rely on (as apparently whilst to get it perfect you have to do it yourself, you also can’t be everywhere at once) and meetings/problems/projects that drop in at the last second, they often get pushed to the wayside for weeks or even several months at a time.

The important things I’ve learned through all this can be taken down to 3 Ps.

The first is Preparation, a term I already try to incorporate into a mantra I call PASTRY (an acronym I hope to later explain in a future post on sister site WAVE Media). You should always be prepared for the unexpected events, even if it seems unlikely they will happen. On top of this you should prepare for what happens when other bumps appear in the world which whilst trivial, can soon add up. If you have a contingency plan though, at least you can rest in the knowledge that you have it under control.

The second is Prioritisation. This one is usually a given, but clients often feel that they’re work is the most important. Being the one doing the work, it’s best to be the one in control (or at least partially) of deciding what is to be done first and then following in an order that allows for minimal disruption. The rule of thumb I’ve learned in this is “Do they need it now?”. If yes, crack on. If not, add it to the queue and be honest with them that it might be a while. Simple as that. At the end of the day, there’s only one you and being only human you can only do so much.

Finally, there’s Perseverance. The world keeps turning each day and people hope their projects they’ve requested will keep up with that. In the relentless run of work, it’s important to keep going as best as you can as failure is only really guaranteed if you don’t try. Your clients will appreciate your perseverance when the going gets tough and you might just surprise yourself. As the anonymous saying goes:

“The moment you’re ready to quit is usually the moment right before a miracle happens. Don’t give up!”

Happy Sunday and go get ’em!

Mike