Saving Yourself From Drowning
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Many people are drowning in an endless sea of to-dos.
Even the high-performers I’ve coached have struggled with this. They’re getting a lot done day after day… but their to-do list gets bigger and bigger.
So they feel like they aren’t doing enough.
One of the best ways to start getting your head above water is by planning your week.
If you’re like me, you’ve tried countless times to plan your week… only for everything get knocked off course within a couple days.
This is usually because we go overboard with our planning. We plan out every hour of every day. Then something comes up and that schedule gets destroyed like a flea market tent in a hurricane. Back to drowning…
Of course, there’s the other extreme – not planning the week at all. That leaves us figuring out what to work on whenever we get time to do work.
This is a bad habit because trying to figure out what to work on is a task in itself. We waste precious time, energy, and attention figuring out what to do before actually doing anything.
Save yourself from drowning
Here’s a simple strategy you can use to plan your week. It’ll take less than 10 minutes, and it’ll save you at least 10 hours during the week:
1) Grab a pen and paper, then write down every to-do you can think of
Note: As you write, organize your to-dos by category (such as business, work, personal, etc.) – this is your “long list”
2) Pick out 3 to 5 priorities from those to-dos
3) Write those priorities on another piece of paper – this is your “short list”
4) Create a few 30 to 90 minute time blocks on your calendar to work on your priorities
5) Set up reminders like alarms, sticky notes, a sign taped to your cat – something to remind you to do the work at the times you plan to
This strategy leverages a few useful psychological principles:
One, setting a plan in advance for doing X at Y time makes you more likely to get X done. This is related to implementation intentions.
Two, writing down all of your to-dos quiets the noise in your mind so you can think clearer.
Three, narrowing your focus to your short list of priorities eliminates the feeling of overwhelm caused by having dozens of to-dos. This reduces decision fatigue.
By the way, it’s best to do this on the weekend – which works out since it’s a beautiful Saturday morning. Try it this weekend. You’ll be glad you did… and you’ll enjoy all the time you save.
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