take care of business
Get things done
Take care of business means to handle necessary tasks or responsibilities, often with implications of competence or dispatch.
The phrase can be mundane—I need to take care of some business before the meeting—or suggest decisive action: He went in there and took care of business.
In euphemistic contexts, it may refer to using the toilet or, more ominously, to violence.
The acronym TCB, popularized by Elvis Presley as a personal motto, captures the ethos of getting things done efficiently.
Productive without waste
- streamlineRemove unnecessary elements
- optimizeMake maximally effective
- workflowSequential task progression
- systematizeArrange into ordered structure
prioritization · delegation · scheduling · execution · organize · coordinate · handle · manage
Manage or dispense
- overseeManage and direct
- superviseDirect and watch others
- directUndeviating or to guide
- coordinateArrange for unified action
govern · conduct · facilitate · arrange · strategize · delegate · mediate · orchestrate
Required moral task
- obligationRequired task or commitment
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- stewardshipResponsible care of entrusted things
mandate · charge · role · function · assignment · oversight · trustee · guardianship
Accomplished goal or deed
- completionAct of finishing
- successFavorable outcome attained
- goalDesired end result
- milestoneNotable event marking progress
fulfillment · attainment · breakthrough · feat · triumph · finish · deliver · results
efficiency
Productive without waste
- streamlineRemove unnecessary elements
- optimizeMake maximally effective
- workflowSequential task progression
systematize · prioritization · delegation · scheduling · execution · organize · coordinate · handle · manage · process
administer
Manage or dispense
coordinate · govern · conduct · facilitate · arrange · strategize · delegate · mediate · orchestrate · run
duty
Required moral task
- obligationRequired task or commitment
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
stewardship · mandate · charge · role · function · assignment · oversight · trustee · guardianship · reliable
achievement
Accomplished goal or deed
- completionAct of finishing
- successFavorable outcome attained
- goalDesired end result
milestone · fulfillment · attainment · breakthrough · feat · triumph · finish · deliver · results · outcome
take care of businessprocrastinate
Delay action unnecessarily
put off · delay · drag one's feet · dawdle · dither
takes, taken, taking, taker, takers, cares, caring, careful, carefully