In the last few weeks, I’ve shared with you how I make my lists, and how I live by them. The thing is though, sometimes, these lists can be totally overwhelming. Sitting down to look at a list of things to do that is one or two pages long is a surefire way to kill all hopes of productivity. Over time, I’ve developed a trick that helps me get more done by focusing my work. Choosing three big things to complete each day has transformed the way I approach productivity.
Every night, I look at my to-do list, and on a Post It I would write down 3 big things I wanted to accomplish on the following day. I talked about this in my first post as part of the Daily Check In. So I look at my list and think, “What are the three things that need to get done to make tomorrow successful?” It’s key to limit it to three…that forces me to prioritize my list. Plus, three things is manageable; I know that I can get three things done.
These three things are the first things I would work on for the day, even if they are super hard, daunting tasks. Starting with the first thing on the list, I work on the projects, marking them off as I completed them. When I check something off, I feel like I am making progress. Having successes like that motivate me to keep working and get more done.
Every day I focus on completing the three tasks I assigned myself the night before. If I finish with time to spare in the day, I go back to my list and pick a few tasks from it and work on them. Some days, I get more than the three done, other days it would just be the three. If I get the three tasks done for the day, I count the day as a success.
So why does this work? The answer is motivation. If my list is smaller, I am more motivated to get it done. If I find success getting stuff done, I want to get more done. It’s a trick I play on my mind each day that is paying off big time.
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