ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT BEYOUROWN 2026

Boost Productivity With Single-Tasking By Toni Daly

pexels-keira-burton-6147081
Procrastinating, overwhelmed and deadlines coming in and out of the inbox like no tomorrow. The corporate employee has all the ideas and skills to deal with the tasks at hand if only they had the time and space to complete it… The mum, the business owner, the student all seeking for ways to boost productivity and yet all end up with a to-do list the size of a football pitch and no closer to completing what they wanted to achieve. So what is it about the to-do list that makes it less productive and still quite overwhelming to take action on? Too many items on the list. There have been many clients that have expressed having a to-do list and not knowing where to start or ignoring it completely and this is because they have used the to-do list as a method of putting everything down from their head onto paper. For a to-do list to be effective it has to have some sort of prioritisation. Toni Daly is a Mindset and Professional development coach, CEO of The Mindset Club who helps female professionals to feel empowered in their place of work. She does this through mindful professional development via one to one coaching, a monthly membership and corporate workshops. Toni struggled with depression on her journey of gaining a law degree and found the power in mindset professional development. Toni now helps women to work on their mindset, so they can authentically develop in a professional setting.  If everything is urgent, then nothing is urgent! The Ivy Lee method is based on the productivity of employees in a working environment and the study showed that people should not focus on more than 6 tasks in a day and for these items to be listed by importance to that person, based on what activities they had to accomplish. The idea here however is that you take one task at a time and do not move on to the next until you have completed that task fully. Some people still find that 6 items is too much and so 3 can be recommended to get that person to just start… that’s sometimes the hardest part. The idea behind this method is that by completing one task at a time you are able to: 
  • Clearly focus - meaning the output will be more significant than if they were focusing on 2 or 3 more things at the same time. 
  • The timing – as they will only be focusing on completing the one task the time it will take to complete reduces.
  • Completion – as the tasks become completed, they will start to see a tangible difference to their list giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Especially as this will also be their highest priority item giving them the most satisfaction.
  • Satisfaction – as they start to accomplish tasks, their confidence will also start to build in knowing that they are in control and are able to accomplish tasks. This will give them great satisfaction.
  • Repeat – based on the above and the success rate, they are likely to repeat this method and class themselves as being productive.
So the quickest and easiest way to implement this is to use the following tips:
  1. Write down on a piece of paper everything that is going on in your brain.
  2. On second piece of paper take 3-6 things that you would like to accomplish based on importance to you and the priorities.
  3. Focus on the first item on that list, and completely focus on that item until it is completed. Do not feel bad if this task takes you more than one day – the task may be complex in nature or may be reliant on others.
  4. If you do not complete all actions for that day, take the remaining items and move them to the next day prioritising these first and so on.
  5. If you do want a to-do list but want to make it fancier – label it as a Ta-Da list and write down all the tasks you have completed because well, you’re productive now.

Read More
Membership Personal Invitation

Leading Like a Pro: Enhancing Leadership Skills for Female Founders

|BEYOUROWN Team
In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, female founders face unique challenges and opportunities. Navigating the path to success requires not only a compelling vision but also robust leadership skills. For...