Raise your hand if you sometimes feel frustrated that you don’t get all things done!
Do you ever write To-Do lists? And if you do, how often do you manage to really check all of the tasks, or how often do you forget about them because you feel overwhelmed with a growing mountain of things to do?
There must be something wrong here. How come we keep struggling with this? Is it all a matter of discipline?
Some Practical Reasons Why To-Do Lists Don’t Work
First of all, to-do lists can be very helpful for short term tasks, where there’s a need for our fast action. But for most of us, in the long run they do not help us take care of all the things that we need.
We either include too many tasks or not enough of them; these tasks are mostly too generic or don’t include a deadline; we cannot allocate (enough) time for each task; we find them too boring or restrictive; we don’t have enough time to update them; we prioritize them but then something always comes up to mess with our plans.
Missing The Big Picture
The main reason why To-Do lists don’t work is that they don’t discriminate between what is important and what is not, related to our values, purpose and ultimate goals.
This means that by losing sight of the big picture we put all our energy into reacting to all the things that happen immediately around us. These actions and reactions may be related to one specific goal only, making us forget about other goals that are also important to us.
How We Can Manage Our Tasks More Effectively
Stephen Covey offers an excellent suggestion in his book “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”
- Identify your different roles in life
- Choose your goals for each role
- Plan by the week instead of by the day
- Take a few minutes daily to review your plan
This gives us the opportunity to look at the big picture, and along with the identification of our values, purpose and mission, it becomes a highly effective way to set the right priorities and to decide how and where to allocate our time and energy.
Conclusion
It is definitely possible to get things done more effectively, so that we feel more productive as well as more relaxed and satisfied.
It is a matter of what we are ready to change in order to achieve it. It does not require huge change, and the positive impact it can have on the quality of our life is amazing. How will we stay motivated to consistently apply such an effective time management? Read this article.
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