Is your to-do list mocking you at the end of the day with its barely-crossed-off items or frantic scrawls? For better or worse, you're not alone. A LinkedIn survey of more than 6,000 global professionals found that just 11 percent of respondents regularly accomplish all the tasks on their daily to-do lists. Why do the other 89 percent fail? Distractions were the biggest offender, with 40 percent of respondents admitting they're easily distracted, citing email, impromptu meetings and phone calls as the biggest hindrances to getting work done.
The most likely to be distracted were people in the legal industry, with 66 percent saying they regularly accomplish most or all of their to-do tasks. Those in the agricultural industry were the most likely to cross off all their to-dos, with 83 percent regularly completed most or all of their tasks.
Why it matters to your business: This survey didn't break out business owners specifically, but I'd love to see a survey of entrepreneurs on this topic. I'm guessing we'd beat the lawyers in terms of how rarely we're able to get it all done. On those days you feel drowning in to-dos, take comfort from the fact that everyone else is right there with you. And, as my colleagues and I always say, it's better to be too busy than to have the opposite problem.