Overestimating What Can Be Done in a Day
Last Updated on: September 5, 2023
Last Updated: 4th September 2021
Every evening I make a to-do list of what I want to achieve the next day. It’s called “Today”. It includes my work, my personal life, fitness, reading and other bits.
For as long as I can remember, I have never completed the entire list.
Every single evening I postponed tasks and convinced myself they would be done tomorrow.
It got pretty ridiculous.
Some tasks sat on my “Today” list for weeks.
The result was a constant feeling that I was never doing enough. The days never felt successful. I found it hard to switch off because of so many open loops.
I push myself very hard in my personal life and in my business. I have high expectations of myself, but this was too much. It was having a negative effect.
One simple change made a world of difference.
I now only put on my “Today” list things that I absolutely have to do in these 24 hours. The things that I absolutely must do, or the world will end.
Everything else is on a separate project to-do list and prioritised. I start them only after completing my Today list.
Organising yourself is a personal thing. My only recommendation for you is to keep reading, keep tweaking and keep improving how you do things.
I now achieve everything on my Today list, and it feels good. I am motivated to work on the other tasks and am making more of my time.
Taking a step back and looking closely at our old habits can be a quick way to be better.
Get notified of new posts:
Have you read this book? This is exactly what you are talking about.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eat-That-Frog-Important-Things/dp/1444765426
Hey Steve, bit of a delayed response.. but yes I have read that book, it has great insights on this topic.
You should check Todoist, it is a really great app to avoid the frustration you have experienced! I was feeling the same and it has changed my life (or at least my perception of it).
The free version should be more than enough for most people.