Are you drowning in a never ending to-do list of tasks and responsibilities? If you are, I am about to say something very controversial. You are causing your own misery. You are stuck in first generation productivity thinking. You are reducing relationships and strategic thinking to tasks you can tick off for your own personal gratification. WAKE UP – you are not your to-do list and if you find yourself being a slave to tasks on paper, you are playing small.
There is no way to complete all of the tasks life will throw at you. There will never be an end to your list. Adopt these following strategies to realize your value lies outside of lists and there is a better way to accomplish your goals. One that requires less hurry and more heart
- When you say YES to your list, what are you saying NO to?
- Game Changers
- Time Multipliers
I don’t believe in working hard and then playing hard. I believe in trying to find joy and fulfillment in everything we CHOOSE to do. Some tasks are necessary — but are they? How much time do you waste adding trivial things to a list? Have you ever asked yourself if this absolutely needs to be done? If it does need to be done then does it need to be done by YOU and RIGHT NOW? There are 100’s of tasks we can clutter a list with. In the end we never finish, get overwhelmed and feel defeated. People with lists tend to choose the easiest task with the least amount of energy expenditure to complete first. Is that really moving you forward? Checking off tasks may give you a fleeting moment of satisfaction but leaves you with a lifetime of missing what is important. Are you prioritizing making your lists and completing those tasks over a moment with your child, a walk in the sun, a blanket and a book on the couch, or a phone call with your Mom? In the end, no one is going to care about a check mark on a dry erase board. What matters are the memories we hold close to our hearts and the love we have given to others. When you say YES to your list, what exactly are you saying NO to?
Does every task have equal importance in your life? OF COURSE NOT! Making to-do lists is easy and anyone can do it. It is the rare individual who makes the difficult choice to sit with all of life’s demands and CHOOSE those tasks that are the real needle movers. No one has the time to accomplish everything – this is just a fact that everyone needs to sit with. Sit down and ask yourself – What tasks are adding value to my life, to my family, to my work and craft, to my profession? Is it more important for your patients to write charts on your day off or hone your rare and valuable skills as a doctor? To dust the bookshelf or read a book to your child? To write protocols for employees or use that time to sit with them and learn their goals and dreams? You get the point. Invest your time in YOURSELF and OTHERS. Sit down and find out what you want your life to be all about. We can’t do EVERYTHING but we can make the choice to do the RIGHT THINGS. Throw your task lists out and start your day by doing the things that will make a real difference.
Time, time, time. No one has enough time. We are all so BUSY. Busy doing what? Busy figuring out how to get through your to do list faster? Can you sense the irony in my voice. Have you stopped to think about what things you can do today that will make your life easier in the future? Sometimes, we need to take that initial time investment to organize our desk to make back hours every week in increased efficiency. How about investing time today to make that work template that automates some rote task that you keep having to do over and over? Really, be creative. Can you organize a drawer in your home in the ORDER in which you use the utensils to make the same breakfast you eat every day? How about putting your vitamins/supplements in the time order in which you take them inside your cabinet? Set up a pet food station right next to where you feed them. Work on your typing speed, meditate to fall asleep faster, go for that run to increase your energy and function for the day. Is it faster to take a deep breath or spend the next 10 minutes in an argument? So many possibilities. Thinking about the things you can do today that will buy you time in the long run. This is definitely third generation productivity thinking and this is where truly great people spend their time.
Ditch your to-do list. Value presence and relationships over tasks. Determine what is important, not urgent and do that FIRST. Invest your time in productivity multipliers. YOU are not your to-do list, you are so much more than that.