I see articles every other day about productivity and how “Todo lists are ruining our lives.” Personally, I don’t believe that. I get that there are super ambitious people in the world who live on their to-do lists (raises hand), and some of them talk about how their lives are so much better because of their lists (also raises hand). Here’s the thing; You are in control of your to-do list. I get that people are concerned about their lack of productivity, but how is that the list’s fault?
1) It’s easy to let your to-do list control you – oh man, I have had many times when I was a complete slave to my to-do list. Certainly, when I first started making to-do lists and making it so that I had continual access to my plans, I would overload myself with everything that I could do or wanted to do. The problem is that previous to digital lists, it was real easy to get caught up in the length of your to-do list. If you had 200 things to do throughout the year (as an example), you would still be looking at a list 200 tasks long, and that’s something that could make even the most hardcore of to-do list nerds a little dizzy. The trick is to make it so that, no matter what the task is, you can get everything down to manageable chunks so that it’s, well, effortless. If you have too many things on your to-do list on any given day, then your list can quickly overtake your life. If you have a manageable number of things (say no more than five easy tasks), then It’s conceivable that you will be able to make your to-do list much more manageable.
2) It’s easy to control your to-do list – When I first started using my digital to-do lists, I discovered that I have a perception problem. One of the functions that I use on a regular basis is putting a date to a task, but when I’m planning out my year, my go-to line is, “yeah, I can start that in January.” The issue is that when I have my 100-200 things that I want to get done throughout the year all started in January, A) there is no conceivable way for me to get everything done (so I’m bound to fail) and b) with everything that I want to do being done in January….there’s nothing for me to do for the rest of the year. What I like to do now is to schedule both my year and my week to have an idea of what I need to get done. The product I use for my to-do lists is called Notion (and I’ll do another post on how I use it). Still, I will sit down on Sunday and plan for what I need to get done in the upcoming week, what I didn’t get done the previous week and need to, and think of anything else I need to get done down the road. Assigning dates allows me to control my to-do list not to get overwhelmed on any given day.
3) Need to differentiate between a to-do list and a calendar – This is something that I see on an alarmingly regular basis. People using their calendars as to-do lists or vice versa. I will admit, I did this for a while, and it completely overwhelmed me. I used my calendar to remind me to do specific tasks, at it would get to the point that I would have anywhere from 5-12 “meetings” a day! So we’re all on the same page, here is how I use both tools. My Todo list is for stuff I need to get done. My calendar is to tell me where I need to be on any specific date. I draw a hard line between the two and do not cross it. The beauty of the digital to-do list is that because you can assign dates to tasks (even recurring dates), you can look at your digital to-do list and not be overloaded by the number of jobs you have from day to day. The trick is to make sure that you have to spread out all the things you need to get done throughout the day or week.
There are a significant number of to-do list apps out there. The problem isn’t the tools. Like 99% of everything out there in the world, it’s actually how you use it which makes the thing work well or not. I used to feel terrible about my to-do lists, particularly when I wouldn’t finish every last thing on my list. Even when the task would easily be done the next day, I would feel lots of guilt about not getting everything done when I had initially set out to do it. The problem wasn’t the list; it was my attitude towards it. Once I realized that to-do lists aren’t holy commandments that can never be disobeyed, my life became easier. When you set yourself realistic goals and make sure that they are doable, you will find that the Todo list helps keep you productive.
How do you keep yourself productive?
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