Taming Your To-Do List

My guess is that you have a very long To-Do list somewhere - whether written or swirling in your brain. It’s thorough (read: unwieldy) and encompasses all the deliverables for your various roles, responsibilities, projects and goals. 

If you’ve gone to a productivity seminar, you’ve dumped those tasks onto an actual list to free up brain capacity. Each task may start with a verb (for clarity of action) or may even have a priority number associated with it (for clarity of importance). You may even have a booklet of To-Do lists - one for home, one for work, one for each committee or project, one for now, one for someday, etc. - that allows you to focus on one set of responsibilities at a time.

Research shows that no matter how optimized your To-Do List is, it’s unlikely that you’ll finish it.

And, that’s OK.

The good news is that 1) you’ll ultimately get the most important things done, and 2) there are real benefits from creating to-do lists, such as structuring your time, and reducing both mental load and stress.

But if you want real traction on your highest priorities... it’s time to TAME your To-Do List. 

And if you do it well, your redesigned list will allow you to slay even the most difficult tasks WHILE increasing your motivation, confidence and day-to-day satisfaction. 

Dang, that sounds good. 

Let's do it!

Step 1 - Clarify your goals

First things first. Start by getting clear about what's most important to you right now - in this particular season of your life, in this particular season of your business or career. If you don’t decide what’s most important, SOMEONE WILL DECIDE FOR YOU. You'll get wrapped up in John’s project or your never-ending emails instead of making real progress on the things that matter most to you.

Question 1:

What are your 2 or 3 most important goals for this specific season of your personal and professional life?

Time to get honest and selective. Not everything can be a priority. Trying to do it all will make you run in circles or just plain burned out. Trust me, I know. 

So, put a stake in the ground. Write down no more than 3 major goals. These can be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound) goals or they can be worded as the end result you want.

Step 2 - Clear the decks

By naming what’s most important, you’re also declaring that everything else will have to wait or be eliminated from your priority list. Read that again. 

When non-priority goals are left lingering in your brain, they wreak havoc on your mental health and motivation. They distract and overwhelm you, preventing any real progress on the things that matter most.

So, let’s put those non-priority goals in their proper place.

Once you’ve jotted down the “not-right-now” goals, evaluate what you want to do with them.

1.  If it’s important & only you can do it - decide when in the future you will do it. (Ex. next quarter)
2. If it’s important & you can delegate it - decide who will handle it and schedule time with that person to hand off the task well.
3. If it’s not truly important (ie. it's been on your list for 6 months) - say goodbye to it. Release it from your mental load. It will come back to your priority list later if it’s truly important.

Step 3 - Lay out your Master Action Plan

Time to break that big goal into a step-by-step roadmap.

Under each of your Goals, list all the actions needed to accomplish the goal. These steps will be your roadmap, so be as concrete and thorough as possible. This is your Master Action Plan, and it will keep you on track when your mind wants to entertain new shiny things or go beyond the original goal scope.

As an added bonus, the act of writing down all those actions will reduce the nagging feeling that you have “so much to do,” because you’ve shown your brain that you have a plan and that there’s no need to worry.

Step 4 - Make it bite-sized with Tiny Tasks

Your brain really likes finishing things. Every time you complete a task, it rewards you with happiness and more motivation (ie. dopamine). The secret to accomplishing a big, complex project is to break it down into small, easily-achievable tasks. The smaller you make the task, the more likely you are to complete it and receive that brain booster that energizes you to tackle the next thing. 

Spend some time here creating a list of bite-sized Tiny Tasks for each of your Actions - the smaller the better. You may feel silly writing down “Write for 10 minutes,” or “Organize 1 drawer,” but there’s no shame in the tiny task game. This is how you manufacture confidence, motivation, momentum and ultimately success! 

Step 5 - Create Tiny Task time blocks

Look at your schedule and be realistic about what time blocks are available. 

Select the Tiny Tasks you want to tackle today and block time for those tasks on your calendar. 

Systematize this process by creating standing time blocks for your Tiny Tasks.

• Example 1:  Create a daily 50-minute morning block to knock off multiple Tiny Tasks related to your goals. 
• Example 2:  Create 3 consecutive 50-minute blocks once a week for the Tiny Tasks that require deep focus. Rest for 10 minutes between each block.
• Example 3:  Create a 15-minute block every evening to pre-plan your Tiny Tasks for the next day.

Step 6 - Celebrate & Rest 

After you complete a task, cross that sucker off! 🎉 Enjoy the dopamine hit that comes from crossing off each and every completed task! You’ve earned it. Pausing to celebrate multiplies the happiness and motivation boost. So, record the WIN, pat yourself on the back, and enjoy the extra oomph for the next tasks! 💫

Don’t jump right into the next thing. Take a beat to relax. You get bonus points - in the form of increased concentration and energy - if you take a brain break after each task and regularly schedule non-productive time each day. 

Rest and recovery is essential for sustained achievement. And rest is one of my very favorite high performance coaching topics! So, we’ll dive into that next week.  

At the end of the day, give yourself grace and flexibility. Life is unpredictable. If a task is not completed, simply move it to the next day. With a plan as good as yours, you will get to your destination. 

Happy planning & doing! Enjoy the traction!

Your coach, Ciara

Want to dig deeper?

• Book:  Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown 
• Article:  How to Actually Get Sh!t Done with a To-Do List
• Article:  If you don't want to be late, enumerate: Unpacking reduces the planning fallacy
• Article:  Why Your To-Do List Never Ends