Productivity Breakthrough: Must-Do List
Here’s something I discovered for myself over the last few weeks:
only put the most important tasks on the daily To-Do list.
That means 3-5 most important (money-making, life-improving, etc) things that MUST be done. Everything else, i.e. workout or laundry, that stuff gets done in between. Unless workout or laundry is a part of your life changing activities, obviously.
I used to put EVERYTHING on the To-Do list, down to the smallest thing, and you know what that does? It gives a false sense of accomplishment as I tick off the easy stuff during the day. Sometimes I’d have 8 of 12 tasks checked off which might seem like a lot, but the most important ones wouldn’t be done.
Having just a few lines in the list keeps me focused. Everything else is a distraction, small stuff doesn’t usually deserve as much attention as we give it.
Too obvious? Well, congratulate yourself for being smarty-pants 🙂 I just got to this point and it’s a meaningful shift of perspective.
Ever considered a “stop-doing list” ? (e.g. do not hang around on facebook for more that 5 minutes)
It helped me in freeing up some time
Yes, I tried that last year, but I just don’t have many bad habits. Google Reader and Twitter are my only time sucks. They’re like a “smoke break” in good ol’ days so I don’t feel too bad about that either.
What *really* helped was RescueTime. I dread getting negative numbers on it 🙂
One more thing: I think that problems with productivity are generally mood/energy and focus problems. Silence, and time away from computer help me balance the mood and re-focus. Super important.