Here's the dirty secret of self-employment that nobody mentions in the recruitment brochures: freedom is fantastic until you realise that nobody is going to structure your day for you. No manager setting priorities. No team meetings forcing accountability. No corporate systems catching things before they fall through cracks. Just you, a potentially overwhelming amount of work, and the slowly dawning realisation that being your own boss requires actually being a boss.
The advisers who thrive in commission-based self-employment aren't necessarily the smartest or the most talented. They're the ones who've figured out how to organise themselves effectively without external structure. If you're drowning in tasks, constantly firefighting, or ending each day wondering where the time went, this is for you.
The Problem With How Most People Use To-Do Lists
Let's start with the humble to-do list, because almost everyone uses one and almost everyone uses it wrong. The typical approach is to write down everything that needs doing, feel momentarily satisfied at having captured it all, and then watch the list grow longer each day as new tasks arrive faster than old ones get completed. Eventually the list becomes so overwhelming that you stop looking at it entirely, which rather defeats the purpose.
The problem isn't the to-do list itself. It's that a simple list treats all tasks as equal when they're categorically not. Calling a potential client about a new application is not the same as updating your email signature. Submitting a time-sensitive insurance application is not equivalent to organising your desk drawer. Yet on a flat to-do list, they sit side by side, competing equally for your attention.
What you need isn't a longer list. It's a smarter system for deciding what actually deserves your time and in what order.
The Eisenhower Matrix: Your New Best Friend
If you haven't encountered the Eisenhower Matrix, allow me to introduce you to a framework that will genuinely change how you work. Named after the American president who was apparently quite good at getting things done, it sorts tasks into four quadrants based on two criteria: urgency and importance.
Quadrant one contains tasks that are both urgent and important. These are your genuine emergencies, your time-sensitive client needs, your compliance deadlines. They need to be done, and they need to be done now. No arguments.
Quadrant two is where the magic happens. These tasks are important but not urgent: building referral relationships, professional development, strategic planning, client retention activities. This quadrant is where long-term success is built, yet most advisers neglect it entirely because nothing in quadrant two is screaming for immediate attention.
Quadrant three is the trap. These tasks feel urgent but aren't actually important: most emails, many phone calls, other people's priorities that somehow became your problem. They create the illusion of productivity while contributing little to your actual goals.
Quadrant four is pure waste. Not urgent, not important. Yet somehow these tasks still consume time. Excessive social media. Reorganising things that don't need reorganising. Busywork that feels like work but isn't.
For a detailed explanation of how to implement this framework, have a look at this guide to the Eisenhower Matrix. Understanding it properly will transform how you prioritise.
Applying This to Commission-Based Work
In advisory work, quadrant two activities are typically the ones that determine your long-term success. Nurturing referral partner relationships. Conducting annual client reviews. Following up with prospects who aren't ready yet. Building your professional knowledge. These activities don't have deadlines screaming at you, so they get perpetually pushed aside in favour of whatever feels urgent today.
The result is a practice that might survive month to month but never builds sustainable momentum. You're always chasing new business because you haven't invested in the relationships that would bring business to you. You're always dealing with client problems reactively because you haven't been proactive with reviews. You're trapped in quadrants one and three while quadrant two, where your future lives, remains neglected.
The solution is to schedule quadrant two activities as if they were appointments. Block time for referral partner outreach. Block time for client reviews. Block time for professional development. When that time arrives, protect it as fiercely as you would a client meeting. Because in terms of your long-term success, it's at least as important.
Building Systems That Work Without Willpower
Relying on willpower to stay organised is a losing strategy. Willpower is finite, and it depletes throughout the day. By mid-afternoon, your ability to make good decisions about priorities is significantly compromised, which is precisely when the temptation to do easy, unimportant tasks is strongest.
Instead, build systems that make good behaviour automatic. Use your calendar to block time for different types of work, and treat those blocks as non-negotiable. Set up recurring tasks for regular activities so you don't have to remember them each time. Create templates for common processes so you're not reinventing the wheel with every client.
Review your systems weekly. What's working? What's falling through cracks? Where are you consistently failing to do what you planned? These failures aren't character flaws; they're system design problems. Fix the system rather than berating yourself for lacking discipline.
The Daily Shutdown Ritual
One practice that pays enormous dividends is the daily shutdown ritual. At the end of each workday, spend five minutes reviewing what happened and setting up tomorrow. What got done? What didn't? What are the top three priorities for tomorrow? What preparation is needed for tomorrow's meetings? This daily practice complements weekly planning—for a simple weekly routine, see The Sunday Night Reset.
This ritual serves multiple purposes. It captures loose ends before they're forgotten. It means you can mentally leave work because tomorrow is already planned. And it means each morning starts with clarity rather than the scramble to figure out what you're supposed to be doing.
Without this ritual, work bleeds into personal time. You lie in bed remembering things you forgot. You start each day reactively. The boundary between work and not-work becomes uncomfortably blurred, which is a particular risk when you're self-employed and theoretically could be working any time.
The Bottom Line
Getting organised as a self-employed adviser isn't about finding the perfect app or the ideal planner. It's about understanding that your time is your primary asset and treating it accordingly. It's about recognising that not all tasks are equal and having a framework for deciding what actually matters. It's about building systems that work even when your motivation doesn't.
Start with the Eisenhower Matrix. Sort your current chaos into the four quadrants and notice how much time you're spending in quadrants three and four. Then deliberately shift attention to quadrant two, where long-term success is built. Add a daily shutdown ritual. Review weekly and adjust.
None of this is complicated. It just requires the discipline to implement it consistently, which, admittedly, is where most people fall down. But you're not most people. You've chosen a career path that demands self-direction. Now it's time to actually direct yourself effectively.