Lifehacking: One week at a time, please!
Thu 22 October 2009
, Taco Oosterkamp, Lifehacking.nl
Every week our partners at lifehacking.nl blog about personal growth and office tips. In their Leapwomen.com premiere, Taco Oosterkamp discusses planning your to-do-list effectively.
Focus
As a Getting things done trainer I’ve noticed that David Allen’s book doesn’t offer a real fixed time horizon for Next Actions. Sometimes people on the GTD Connect forums say they have thousands of actions on their to-do-list. And in real life I often meet people who are stuck, because they were trying to do too many things at the same time.
Way out
The problem with extremely long to-do-lists is that you can easily lose track of the situation. Honestly, how can you not lose focus when dealing with, say, 250 tasks at the same time? Priorities become unclear and as a result you feel you’re not getting ahead. But there is a way out.
The trick is quite simple. Choose from your to-do-list the tasks that you’ve described most concretely and mark them to-do in one week. Mark the rest of the tasks Later/Maybe.
Shift
Halfway through the week I scan my list to make sure the tasks on it are really meant for that week. For instance, it’s Wednesday and there are about 40 items on my list. The chance of getting everything done before the weekend is practically nil. I can either kid myself with an unrealistic to-do-list or I can re-mark tasks for the rest of the week and shift others to Later/Maybe.
Simple and effective
At the end of the week, during my to-do-maintenance on Fridays, I scan my Later/Maybe list for tasks to do in the coming week. I put them on my Next Actions list.
Arranging my to-do-list like this isn’t only simple and effective. It keeps me focused, motivated and adds joy to my work. Granted, I wished I could have done more this week. I guess that’s why making a to-do-list is still easier than actually getting things done!
Taco Oosterkamp is a GTD trainer and he blogs for lifehacking.nl.
http://www.life-architect.nl/registreer-meereffect.html
PrintComments (3)
Adnanert45 (unregistered)
Thu 26 Apr 2012 10:37:22
I am exploring this subject as part of a report I need to do on possible careers I might choose. Thank you for your post it has valuable information on this topic.
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BUCEnGAR (unregistered)
Sun 19 Feb 2012 03:35:42
Florida's Taxpayers should not pay for private sports facilities. The private corporations should not use intimidation to get the taxpayers to build new facilities. They signed the current contact(s) and should honor them. The States, counties and cities tax-payers should not pay for a any corporations buildings and grounds. State of Florida Taxpayers' dollars went into each stadium in Florida. Florida's citizens were NOT PERMITTED TO VOTE ON A STATE REFERENDUM FOR ANY STADIUMS and Facilities. The MLB and NFL makes billions of dollars and should pay for their own stadiums and facilities. Their players are being pay 20 to 100 million each. If Florida State, County, and City tax-dollars are use to build private sports corporations buildings and grounds, plus the upkeeps and improvements, then All the citizens of Florida should be able to vote FOR or AGAINST these projects in a State Referendum. Most municipalities request state, county, city taxpayers dollars for the private sports corporations? buildings and grounds, plus upkeep and improvements. Then the municipalities must request to the Federal and/or State governments for funds for the city infrastructure and services expenses (ie. Tampa Bucs Stadium).   The state and/or county tax-dollars should not be subsidizing these municipalities' infrastructure and services after they have commited their tax-dollars to a private sports corporation's facilities/stadium. This type of spending by the politicians is one reason why Florida has a deficit. We need to spend the tax-dollars on infrastructure and services; Schools, Police, Fire and EMS expenses and NOT on private sports corporation's facilities/stadium. The worst part is the politicians are going along with this arrangement. The citizens of this Nation?s (Federal Funds), State and County are subsidizing these municipalities. Most of these sports corporations leave it to the taxpayers to pay the standing debt.  Â
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