Ok, I’ll just say it. Sometimes, I have been known to write down some task I JUST DID on the To Do list . . . so I can have the dopamine hit of checking it off. Plus, it makes it look like I accomplished more in the day. I am both fully aware of my behaviour and yet unfazed by it. I will also waste time reorganizing the list for better flow or if it isn’t neatly written. I never write anything manually (I know some people do write their work out longhand) but for some reason, lists are the sole exception. What is more disturbing is that I keep a few completed checklists as some weird proof that I actually did something useful recently. Or that I exist.
While I don’t believe in unicorns or fully functioning adults, I persist in the “there’s a perfect time to do X” vale of disappointment. The only thing that has helped is trying to switch from a ‘completed’ mentality to a ‘process’ mentality: I can check off that I spent a focused 45 minutes on email or research or the black hole of closet space versus the idea that a task gets DONE. I am kinda, sorta, somewhat, almost but never quite successful in this approach. The struggle is real.
"I don’t deny myself treats. If I want an iced coffee and a cookie, I’m just going to go buy myself an iced coffee and an cookie, to-do list be damned."
Yup, I'm with you completely with this!
A few years ago, I discovered a weird little trick to manage chaos and deadlines. It may not work for you, but for some reason it does for me and has allowed me to get my demanding days in hand.
The little hack? Try not to do things quickly, but rather as slowly as possible. And tell yourself you're doing just that. On purpose.
It seems counterintuitive, but for some reason it actually works. I don't know why, it just does.
(I have OCD so I tend to get very overinvolved in planning and lists but) I have a system for the big check marks Vs lots of little ones thing! I try to do 5 to do list items a day, but I grade some tasks as being more than one item. For example, I write 5k words a day most days, but that's not one item - that's 5 items! Doing my social media queue for the month isn't 1 item, it's 1 item *per channel*. And so on. Break big tasks down into small tasks!
Kate, thanks for this. I can SOOOOOO relate! I've found, like you that lists are a lifesaver, as is the "just do something, anything, never mind what."
I also came up with a helpful "big thing" hack. Not an original idea, but it works: breaking the big thing into lots of little--sometimes micro--things.
For example, "send project estimate to client" becomes
1) locate client manuscript
2) open manuscript file
3) skim through
4) create draft estimate from template
5) calculate hours
6) fill in template
7) double-check and edit
8) email to client
That way, when I have a spare moment I can do one of the micro tasks and make progress. And it doesn't feel as daunting as trying to finish the whole thing all at once.
I have a sign over my desk that reads "JUST START!" And I'm a big fan of lists. Still there are days when it all feels too overwhelming. But I do better than I used to anyway.
I used to think it would be so much easier once I retired. It's not. I still need my to do lists but I find I can't do as much as I once could either! The balancing act continues!!
Great post! I too find myself in a brain buzzing, productivity paralyzing season right now. Sometimes grounding ourselves in the basics lifts us out of the swarm.
I have a piece of paper where I write page numbers for my book, a memoir. The number I write is the next chunk I need to write, 3 pages. It started with 2. Right now the number staring me in the face is 264, with a slew of numbers above in 3-page increments marked through. I can't wait to mark through 264!
I love crossing off a to do list, it feels like progress. "But when I can use stickers to mark something as complete, I am really motivated to do a thing". This sounds like a fun way to check something off the list!
This is the first newsletter of yours that I have read. Oh my goodness this describes my life right now. I can't believe I even had time to read it. But I'm glad I did!
I can't believe how timely this article is. Ever since I returned from a two-week trip, I've been extremely unproductive. I'm getting things crossed off the list, but not very important things. Now I feel less alone. Thanks!
‘Make to do list - tick’ - I love this! I always write things on my list that I’ve actually just done as well, so I get the glow of crossing it off right away! I also tend to start a new day with a new page, a new to-do list, which I can transfer old things onto, or choose to let them drift away……
Lists! Ticking things off! Stickers! Everyone has a method...and I'd like to extol the virtue of the THINGS app, which the amazing Allison K Williams (no relation) told me about: it's an app that you can make for "to do today" or for projects, or areas (like say you're traveling somewhere & you want a place where you can jot down all the shit you want to remember to take with you)...and with a one-time (not very pricey) payment you can get the version that syncs phone & computer...and it is fantastic. I still have the pad o'paper but the app on my phone means I can keep track of book titles, or happy hours, or novel ideas, or ... it's really great. AND there is a satisfying tick-box as you finish things PLUS you can look back on all you've gotten done. Srsly. Love it.
So far, what has worked best for me is to have separate to-do lists for different categories, and put on my calendar what time I'm going to work on each category. It's the only way I can get my writing done without being bogged down by lesson planning for the kids and vice versa.
I have always had a running to do list of anything I might forget. Then I prioritize in the doing and crossing off. When the page gets full and messy with cross-outs, I start a new page. It is the price we pay for having a full life.
Ok, I’ll just say it. Sometimes, I have been known to write down some task I JUST DID on the To Do list . . . so I can have the dopamine hit of checking it off. Plus, it makes it look like I accomplished more in the day. I am both fully aware of my behaviour and yet unfazed by it. I will also waste time reorganizing the list for better flow or if it isn’t neatly written. I never write anything manually (I know some people do write their work out longhand) but for some reason, lists are the sole exception. What is more disturbing is that I keep a few completed checklists as some weird proof that I actually did something useful recently. Or that I exist.
While I don’t believe in unicorns or fully functioning adults, I persist in the “there’s a perfect time to do X” vale of disappointment. The only thing that has helped is trying to switch from a ‘completed’ mentality to a ‘process’ mentality: I can check off that I spent a focused 45 minutes on email or research or the black hole of closet space versus the idea that a task gets DONE. I am kinda, sorta, somewhat, almost but never quite successful in this approach. The struggle is real.
Thanks, Kate!
I also cop to the writing down of a just-completed task. Dopamine is powerful stuff!
I write down just completed tasks, too!
"I don’t deny myself treats. If I want an iced coffee and a cookie, I’m just going to go buy myself an iced coffee and an cookie, to-do list be damned."
Yup, I'm with you completely with this!
A few years ago, I discovered a weird little trick to manage chaos and deadlines. It may not work for you, but for some reason it does for me and has allowed me to get my demanding days in hand.
The little hack? Try not to do things quickly, but rather as slowly as possible. And tell yourself you're doing just that. On purpose.
It seems counterintuitive, but for some reason it actually works. I don't know why, it just does.
This works for me too sometimes. Forced focus.
I *so* identify with a lot of this. It's nice to know I'm not alone! Great article, thank you.
Ditto! :)
(I have OCD so I tend to get very overinvolved in planning and lists but) I have a system for the big check marks Vs lots of little ones thing! I try to do 5 to do list items a day, but I grade some tasks as being more than one item. For example, I write 5k words a day most days, but that's not one item - that's 5 items! Doing my social media queue for the month isn't 1 item, it's 1 item *per channel*. And so on. Break big tasks down into small tasks!
Kate, thanks for this. I can SOOOOOO relate! I've found, like you that lists are a lifesaver, as is the "just do something, anything, never mind what."
I also came up with a helpful "big thing" hack. Not an original idea, but it works: breaking the big thing into lots of little--sometimes micro--things.
For example, "send project estimate to client" becomes
1) locate client manuscript
2) open manuscript file
3) skim through
4) create draft estimate from template
5) calculate hours
6) fill in template
7) double-check and edit
8) email to client
That way, when I have a spare moment I can do one of the micro tasks and make progress. And it doesn't feel as daunting as trying to finish the whole thing all at once.
I have a sign over my desk that reads "JUST START!" And I'm a big fan of lists. Still there are days when it all feels too overwhelming. But I do better than I used to anyway.
I used to think it would be so much easier once I retired. It's not. I still need my to do lists but I find I can't do as much as I once could either! The balancing act continues!!
Great post! I too find myself in a brain buzzing, productivity paralyzing season right now. Sometimes grounding ourselves in the basics lifts us out of the swarm.
I have a piece of paper where I write page numbers for my book, a memoir. The number I write is the next chunk I need to write, 3 pages. It started with 2. Right now the number staring me in the face is 264, with a slew of numbers above in 3-page increments marked through. I can't wait to mark through 264!
I love crossing off a to do list, it feels like progress. "But when I can use stickers to mark something as complete, I am really motivated to do a thing". This sounds like a fun way to check something off the list!
This is the first newsletter of yours that I have read. Oh my goodness this describes my life right now. I can't believe I even had time to read it. But I'm glad I did!
I can't believe how timely this article is. Ever since I returned from a two-week trip, I've been extremely unproductive. I'm getting things crossed off the list, but not very important things. Now I feel less alone. Thanks!
‘Make to do list - tick’ - I love this! I always write things on my list that I’ve actually just done as well, so I get the glow of crossing it off right away! I also tend to start a new day with a new page, a new to-do list, which I can transfer old things onto, or choose to let them drift away……
Lists! Ticking things off! Stickers! Everyone has a method...and I'd like to extol the virtue of the THINGS app, which the amazing Allison K Williams (no relation) told me about: it's an app that you can make for "to do today" or for projects, or areas (like say you're traveling somewhere & you want a place where you can jot down all the shit you want to remember to take with you)...and with a one-time (not very pricey) payment you can get the version that syncs phone & computer...and it is fantastic. I still have the pad o'paper but the app on my phone means I can keep track of book titles, or happy hours, or novel ideas, or ... it's really great. AND there is a satisfying tick-box as you finish things PLUS you can look back on all you've gotten done. Srsly. Love it.
So far, what has worked best for me is to have separate to-do lists for different categories, and put on my calendar what time I'm going to work on each category. It's the only way I can get my writing done without being bogged down by lesson planning for the kids and vice versa.
I have always had a running to do list of anything I might forget. Then I prioritize in the doing and crossing off. When the page gets full and messy with cross-outs, I start a new page. It is the price we pay for having a full life.