Your todo list might be hurting more than helping
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I used to put about 10 items on my todo list every morning. Keep in mind this was over and above meetings. Or those urgent things that inevitably pop up as a day unfolds.
Talk about biting off more than you can chew. Its not surprising that I would never complete all 10. In fact, I rarely got halfway through.
Maybe that’s no big deal though? Maybe it’s better to shoot for the stars and hit the moon?
Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. Even the moon was in no danger. It was actually more like shooting myself in the foot.
I felt overwhelmed and demotivated. I’d look at my list in between meetings and feel unsure of myself. What should I try to do? What should I not do? Those are too many questions. Even looking at the list was exhausting.
So this year I tried a different approach: I limited myself to a maximum of 5 things per day.
It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it. At times it felt odd. Like I was lazy or not being ambitious enough. But then I got into the swing of it... and everything changed.
I felt focused. I felt motivated. 5 things? This I could do! It energized me like never before. It also forced me to decide upfront which 5 things were truly worth doing.
Do less to do more.
Maybe that’s no big deal though? Maybe it’s better to shoot for the stars and hit the moon?
Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. Even the moon was in no danger. It was actually more like shooting myself in the foot.
I felt overwhelmed and demotivated. I’d look at my list in between meetings and feel unsure of myself. What should I try to do? What should I not do? Those are too many questions. Even looking at the list was exhausting.
So this year I tried a different approach: I limited myself to a maximum of 5 things per day.
It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it. At times it felt odd. Like I was lazy or not being ambitious enough. But then I got into the swing of it... and everything changed.
I felt focused. I felt motivated. 5 things? This I could do! It energized me like never before. It also forced me to decide upfront which 5 things were truly worth doing.
Do less to do more.