Great question! It's a constant challenge to maintain our focus, especially when we're working in less structured environments as entrepreneurs and freelancers.

In deciding how to prioritise, you first need to decide what is important. This can be at the “big picture” macro level of life - what is your purpose? what are your underlying values? - or simply asking yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve right now with a particular professional or personal project, or on a particular day. Having clear goals will help you to identify what really matters and likewise what are the things that you can either postpone, delegate, or forget about altogether.

It’s extra tempting to procrastinate when you’re feeling overwhelmed as the idea of doing something just seems too big, too difficult. The solution here, I think, is to break it down into tiny chunks. What’s the first step? “Complete project X” is far too general as an item on your to-do list, break i down into things like “Read notes from meeting”, “Schedule a call with this person”, “Google how to do this”, and so on. These little steps become more manageable and much less daunting and then you can work your way through them, one at a time.

Something else you can do is to create structures that can support you as you go, making it easier to stick to your commitments. These might be technical things like blocking time in your calendar, turning off your phone or the Wi-Fi, making sure you take regular breaks; or you might want to work with a person, a friend or business partner who can hold you accountable, or a coach.

Good luck!

PS I’m an entrepreneur with multiple businesses, as well as being a leadership and management trainer and coach.