Is your to do list toxic? Avoid these 3 traps so you can actually get things done.
Avoid these 3 to do list traps so you can actually get things done.
Making to do lists can be great for getting things done except for when that to do list becomes toxic! I discovered these 3 traps that turn to do lists toxic, plus what to do instead.
Let’s dive in…
The 3 Toxic To Do List Traps
Trap One: The to do list isn’t time bound.
It’s just a long list of stuff that the fantasy self of the future has oodles of time to get done.
We both know that as soon as you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the ground that fantasy self version of you disappears and reality sinks in.
That’s when the to do list you created last night with the best of intentions turns toxic.
So how do we stop this? The best solution I’ve found is to make it TIME BOUND and here’s how…
I’ve started to use a daily insert in my paper planning system where I can list out everything that I need to get done within a day. I can also allot items a time slot within my day. The great thing about that is I get a good idea as to what I can complete with the 24 hours I have ahead me.
Trap Two: The to do list isn’t based on your current energy levels.
This goes back to Trap One regarding the fantasy future self. What if you had a rubbish night’s sleep — probably worrying about the massive list of stuff you’ve told yourself you need to get done. When you get to the end of the day having only managed a few tasks you feel like a flop because most of your to do list remains unchecked.
So what can we do about this? Well, we’re going straight to Trap Three as there’s a two for one deal in terms of solutions.
Trap Three: The to do list isn’t structured based on what’s important.
Inspired by Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People*, his Time Management Matrix is a tool for evaluating your tasks and activities into one of four quadrants detailed below:
Organise and execute priorities as:
Important and urgent
Important but not urgent
Not important but urgent
Not important and not urgent
Typically, task or activities that fall into the important and urgent quadrant will most likely be mentally or physically draining due to a looming deadline or resolving a problem. Conversely, items that can be classified as important but not urgent will most likely bring the greatest sense of achievement because they’re usually based on goal accomplishment.
By grading to do list items based on their importance and urgency helps me to understand how much energy, physical or mental, I’ll need to complete them.
Conclusion
My top tip for preventing your to do list from turning toxic is to use a daily planner with 30–60 minute increments to schedule when you will complete each item on the list — making the list time bound will give you a greater sense of what is achievable within the 24 hours you have to play with.
Additionally, structure the list based on what’s important or urgent and consider the energy, physical or mental, that will be required to complete each task.
About Me
Hey there Planner Friend, I’m Chloe and I’m a professional graphic designer as well as the creator behind Keshinomi, not only do I love to geek out on paper planning stuff but I also love personal development stuff which is why we’re chatting about the toxic to do list, 3 points to evaluate if your to do list is causing more harm than good, and how to turn it around.
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