Ditch your To-Do List for a Priorities List
Abstract:
When there’a a lot to do, many people resort to the good old to-do list. But is this really the best way to get things done?
Endless lists make you feel pressured. As you roll over the unfinished tasks to the next day, it feels like the work is never done. However, simply not planning at all is not the solution, either.
The alternative is getting smart about your day, and this is what we’ll talk about today.
Your mission is to learn how to replace to-do with priorities lists.
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Background: Ideal vs reality
"I can't just do less!" is what I hear most often from my clients. And so far, in every single case we did find something to let go of an simplify – several things, usually.
Remember you should be resting 43% of the time to stay healthy and balanced. And to achieve this, to decelerate, the way forward is to kick out non-essentials. It may be challenging, but it is possible.
When that’s done, the you need to prioritise.
Task: Create your Priorities List
In the morning or each day (bonus points if you do it the night before), write down all your tasks for the day. This includes menial, everyday tasks like doing the dishes. It’ll do you good to see how many different things you actually do in a day!
Then find no more than two important tasks for the day. These are your priorities, which you absolutely have to do. The rest are nice-to-haves.
You may protest that you have more than two important things to do every day, and I still say you should focus on no more than one or two. If it’s completely impossible, that’s a sign that you need change in your life.
If you absolutely want a third priority, make it a passion. It should be something that lights you up.
The Priorities List makes a big difference because it directs your focus and energy to where it matters. And if you're doing a non-priority task that turns out to be more complicated than anticipated, you can ditch it. It makes you feel in control of your day and uses far less mental energy than endlessly chasing the points on a to-do list.
Transcript
Here follows the exact transcript of what is being said in the video:
If endless to-do lists stress you out, I have an alternative.
Hello, welcome to this week's Wild Spirits News. I'm Sibylle, and I help women between 40 and 60 to do lots of what they love and to find their unique life purpose, and if that sounds interesting, check out my website wildspiritscoaching.com.
Today's topic is: 'Ditch the to-do list for a priorities list'. When they have a lot to do, most people resort to the good old to-do list, meaning you write down everything you need to do, and once you complete tasks, you check them or strike them out. But is this always the best way of going about things? A to-do list can put a lot of pressure on you, and as you roll over tasks that you didn't manage or didn't get to on one day to the next day or the next days and weeks, it can give you the impression that your work is never done, it's never complete.
However, the alternative of not planning at all is really not a solution either, especially if, as I said, there is a lot going on because you'll be in danger of forgetting things. There is, however, a viable alternative, and that's why your mission today is to learn how to replace a to-do list with a priorities list.
The background to this is titled 'Ideal versus reality'. "I can't just do less", is what my clients usually tell me, and every one of them so far has found at least one thing that they could actually drop from their lives although they didn't think it was possible at first. In most cases even more than one thing. Remember that you were meant to rest at least 43% of your time! We're just not made for doing this much, and in order to achieve this or to at least get closer to the ideal, you need to drop, like I said, non-essentials and let them go and decelerate your life in that way.
It can be a challenge but it can be done, like I said, this is, in my experience so far everyone was able to do that, even the busiest person that I've coached. And once you have done that, you take the remaining things, the remaining tasks and prioritize them.
And that brings me to today's task which is 'Create your priority list'. Every morning, bonus points if you do it the night before - I'm usually not that organized, but you can you can strive for that as a goal, right? - but otherwise every morning, write down the tasks for this day, just for this day, everything you have to do, and that includes menial tasks, small things like doing the dishes or making the bed. It's a good exercise to become clear about how much you actually do in an average day, how many different task you actually perform. And once you've written it all down, you pick one or two priorities, no more than two, that will be your priorities for the day, your focus for the day.
Now you may protest that you have more than two important things to do every day, to which I say, still only pick one or two. You're a human being and not a human doing, and this is exactly what creates that stress. Learn to place these priorities. And if you insist on a third one, then make it a passion, make that third priority something that lights you up. And if you find that in your life it's literally not possible to restrict your really important tasks, your priorities to two a day, that might be a sign that you should change something, because, again, human beings are not designed that way, and this could have consequences and not positive ones in the long run.
This priority list makes a huge difference and it does that because it focuses your attention and your energy on these two tasks. The priority tasks are those that when you've done-, you absolutely have to do those in the day, that's what the priorities are about, that's what they mean, and when they are done, that's good for this day. Then you can pat yourself on the back. You can also do the less important tasks, of course, you will in most cases, you will do lots more than these two, but for example if you get stuck in a less essential task and it turns out to be much more complex and complicated than you initially thought, then you can make the decision to actually drop that because it's not a priority that day. It gives you an amount of of wiggle room, of control over your day which feels good.
It makes you feels in control and it uses much less mental energy to organize your day like that. It makes a big difference because it leaves more energy for the things that are actually important, such as your loved ones, such as your passions or yourself, right? So try this out and see what a difference it makes.
And now I would love to know where you stand on this, so please leave me a comment below the video or reply to the email that you got the link to the video with. I'll reply to every comment, I promise. And if you would like some more, like I said, check out my website wildspiritscoaching.com. There you can also sign up for the 100% spamfree Wild Spirits News Love Letter/newsletter, that is one email per week and I always include actually useful information that I don't share anywhere else, so it's really worth it signing up for it, it's not just some marketing newsletter. I wish you a beautiful week and I'll talk to you soon. Bye!