The question I ask myself every day in order to stay on track

As someone who works from home and is a 1 woman show, it is so easy to get distracted by all the different aspects of the business.  Sometimes this can be overwhelming as I figure out how to conquer the day.  Often the voices in my head sound something like this...

Do I ship all the orders that just came in last night? Maybe I should finish the wedding bouquet commission first. But I also want to work on a new pattern with this new color palette that I've been brainstorming for days.  Or maybe I should double-check my supplies to make sure I have enough inventory.  Don't want to run out in the middle of something. Nope, instead I should spend hours planning out and photographing my work for social media.  Or maybe I should post a bunch of finished products to my website so that people can actually buy them.  But sitting on the couch and enjoying the quiet while the husband is at work and the littles are at school sounds quite lovely too. 

Can you relate? The possibilities are endless and the thought of all of them gives me decision paralysis. 

So when I feel like my world is spinning and my to-do list is a mile long, I ask myself this simple question:

What are the 3 things that I MUST do today in order to take me a step closer to my big business goals?

It is so easy to get stuck in the tedious task that we lose sight of the end game. And often I find that once I start tackling those top 3 to-do list items, I get into a really productive groove and am able to actually accomplish quite a bit more on the to-do list.  Plus by choosing those top 3 items, I feel a lot more accomplished at the end of my day instead of feeling like I got just little bit done here and little bit done there. My outlook is that anything after the completion of those 3 things is icing.