For many people, a to-do list is a staple part of their organisational system. The act of writing a list, getting all the thoughts out of your head and onto paper (or in some digital form) is cathartic, we feel at ease when the list is done and we choose one item to focus on. The freedom we feel seems amazing and we wonder why every day isn’t like this.
It only takes a few days or maybe even a few hours though for that feeling to evaporate and be replaced again by the dread of overwhelm and distracting thoughts reminding you of all the unfinished business you have.
What’s goes wrong?
Several things could be at play, causing your to-do list be less than effective.
- The list doesn’t get updated with new items
- There’s vagueness and ambiguity lurking in the list
- You feel so good you don’t even look at the list again
As always, there is a better way to be…
If you were a superhero, what would you and your sidekick be called?
What if your to-do list was to work for you like a superhero’s sidekick? Imagine having an amazing assistant always by your side ready with the next action lined up so all you have to do is execute it. Wouldn’t that be a good place to be in?
For me, when I’m thinking about being productive I like to personify “Awesome Andrew” and “Organised Android” as the dream team.
Together we’re fighting procrastination for the good of all mankind…ish.
What makes the difference is having
- A set of rules around what to capture, how to write it and where to put it.
- Supporting habits to keep me on track and allow me to trust my system to be complete.
These two in combination are powerful. Imagine Pac-Man after he’s eaten the power pill!
So what are the rules?
- Verb!
- One action!
- SMART!
- Accessible when and where you need it (Context)!
Let’s take each one in turn
Verb: For each action, start the to-do description with the action you need to take; call, read, buy, create, plan, etc. If you cant articulate the action, you haven’t finished the thinking required to know how to handle this item.
One Action: firstly, know there’s a difference between a project and an action. A project is any objective that requires more than one action step to complete. An action is just that, an action, singular. Dont put projects on your list, only specific actions.
SMART: make the action a smart one by being really specific about what you’ll do, how you’ll know it’s done and when it needs doing.
Accessible: Where will you be and what will you be doing when you need to execute this action? Where is the best place for it to live therefore so you’ll have it to hand when you need it? It’s no good having your weekly shopping list written in a pad in your office when you’re at the supermarket trying to remember what you wanted.
What media should I use? Notepad, task app, spreadsheet? It doesn’t matter…consistency does. Pick your tool and stick with it. Be consistent.
And what about the habits you mentioned?
- Daily – Plan, Do, Review!
- Separate processing time from execution time.
- Weekly review
Daily – Plan: Look at the landscape of your day, what meetings, appointments, must-do activities already make up the shape of the day? Given the available time, select from your list the three most important items to get done today and flag them in some way.
For me personally, they get put on my daily planner sheet so I’m not looking at the full to-do list. Part of my plan is to schedule the activity on my calendar as an appointment with myself or others if that’s the task.
You could think of this as time in the Bat-Cave checking the gear, looking at the intelligence preparing for the mission. Once the plan is in place, it’s into the batmobile and we’re away!
Daily – Do: Take the first thing on your calendar or daily list and simply get on with it. Having done the planning, and knowing you’ve got all your other commitments under control you can bring the full force of your focus onto the task at hand.
Without the distraction of all your other to-do’s calling for attention, you’ll be through this item before it knows what hit it.
When the task is done or your time is up, take a moment to celebrate your victory and survey the scene of your triumph. What loose ends are left to be locked away i.e. put onto your to-do list or logged in your project notes? Now you can move on to the next item and repeat. If at any point you complete your top three for the day you can now go and cherry-pick other items from the to-do list. Don’t be tempted though to go back to the list until you’ve completed your mission of the top three for the day!
If they’re important enough to be on the day’s list they’re important enough to deal with first.
Daily – Review: At the end of the day, or whenever is appropriate, return to the Bat-Cave and update your daily list, tick off what’s done and capture what’s new following the rules above.
Split ‘Processing’ from ‘Doing’: Processing is the sorting and reviewing of incoming actions such as email, calls, meetings, ideas. Doing is the act of executing the tasks. Dont confuse the two. Spend as little time as possible sorting the incoming ‘stuff’ into relevant groups for later doing. It’s very dangerous to be sorting through emails and find one that grabs your attention to such an extent you dont review the others. This discipline took a lot of practice and is an ongoing challenge for me.
Weekly Review: This is the catch all net that sweeps up once a week gathering all the open commitments and loose ends giving you opportunity to put them into your projects lists and to-do items. This step is vital. It’s what gives your system it’s trustworthiness. Without this step, commitments will slip through the net and you’ll be back into remembering what to do. or at least trying to. Your subconscious will again be on high alert trying to keep you safe by reminding you of everything all the time.
Kryptonite…
For the to-do list to become your super sidekick, you have to put in the effort to train yourself in the habits which support it and ultimately you! When you let days or weeks go by without updating anything or if you let vagueness onto your list it’s like giving Superman a backpack full of Kryptonite to carry around. You’re setting yourself up for failure.
We want the superhero (You) to win in this story.
Building habits is simple but not necessarily easy. If you’d like help getting it all together and staying strong or want to learn more about how to create your own trusted system, check out the other articles on this site and if you’d like help getting started or fine-tuning your system so you can focus and achieve your biggest goals get in touch and let’s talk.
Best wishes
Awesome Andrew (and Organised Android)
Disclaimer: The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. Andrew Marshman disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.
