The overwhelming thing about To Do lists is that they never seem to go away entirely. You never get everything on them done, and you may even have more than one list going at a time. It can be very frustrating and unfulfilling.
How about sorting your to do lists differently? Try these ideas…
- Things it would be nice to do
- Things I should do
- Things I would like to do
- Things I must do
- Things I may do someday
- Things I will do
- Things somebody else told me to do
- Things I am doing today
The Most Important To Do List
So, which of those lists is the most important? Some might say “Things I must do.” But take filing taxes, for instance. Most people would put that on their “must do” list and yet some still might not do it before an extension is required.
The only list that really matters is the list of things you are doing today. If something doesn’t ever get done, by definition it should have been on one of those other lists.
The hundreds of potential tasks you think up are not going to go away — you’re always going to be adding to one list or another. But you can make peace with those lists by wrapping your brain around your own reality, making conscious decisions about what you do, and then being OK with the things that don’t get crossed off.
If you need help figuring out what to do, contact me. That’s what I do best.