One of the questions I ask people when we\u2019re talking about to-do lists is \u201cdo you write in tasks so that you can check them off?\u201d\u00a0 There are a fair number of people who admit with some embarrassment that yes, in fact they do that.\u00a0 And I smile and say, \u201cyup I\u2019ve been known to do that too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I want those check marks \u2013 that symbol of having used my day productively.\u00a0 Yet, it\u2019s simply one-way to have the validation that the day was productive.<\/p>\n
We all want to feel like we are accomplishing things \u2013 both those that are necessary and those that help us feel like we are moving forward.\u00a0 The way that we feel about our to-do lists can vary.\u00a0 It also varies over time \u2013 there are times I love my to-do list and times when it simply fills me with dread.\u00a0 As with everything, there are many variables that affect our behaviors and feelings.<\/p>\n
My biggest struggle is to feel productive \u2013 how many tasks are reasonable to accomplish?\u00a0 There\u2019s this nagging feeling like I could have done more, \u201cif only\u2026\u201d\u00a0 With all the variables of life, what is realistic for a person to do in a given day?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve looked into this, from extensive reading to polling my friends and family.\u00a0 The answers vary dramatically as well as the response that it\u2019s hard to quantify \u2013 \u201cit depends.\u201d\u00a0 There was a flaw in my polling \u2013 often we each view our tasks differently.\u00a0 Does doing the dishes count as a to-do? Does taking a shower?\u00a0 You can see how defining a reasonable number of to-dos can be challenging.<\/p>\n
Tasks take a different amount of time to complete.\u00a0 In a to-do list each item takes a line and can appear equal, even when they\u2019re not.\u00a0 Ideally everything on your active to-do list needs to be able to be completed in one step.\u00a0 This means that projects are kept somewhat separate \u2013 like the brain dump to-do list, and only the next step goes onto the smaller daily or weekly to-do list (see my discussion of this in: Decide on the Next Action<\/a>).<\/p>\n When it feels like I\u2019ve been struggling with accomplishing my tasks, often I will write an estimate of the time I think each task will take.\u00a0 This allows me to see how much I have set to do and gives me the chance to move things to another week (I currently make weekly to-do lists from the brain dump list).\u00a0 Sometimes I will even take a list of tasks completed and note the time spent on each \u2013 this provides me with a realistic view of what I accomplished.<\/p>\n Too often I see people discounting the things they did do, as they view those things as minor or mandatory.\u00a0 Nevertheless, everything we do takes time and energy \u2013 it counts.\u00a0 During the times when I wasn\u2019t really keeping a to-do list, at the end of the day I would sometimes write down everything I had done that day \u2013 another way for me to see what was accomplished.<\/p>\n