We all know the daunting feeling of arriving at your desk at 9a.m. to the lengthy ‘to-do’ list that we hurriedly prepared before heading out the office doors the night before.
There are some days where we find that nothing screams pressure more than those two words. ‘To-do’ – “That means I cannot leave here without ticking off everything on this list”.
While this is a now customary part of day-to-day business life, and certainly works for some, it often gets me thinking that there must be an alternative way of prioritising tasks and maximising time – thankfully, I found that there is.
Reminders that you have a choice
Depending on how you work, sometimes a lengthy list of tasks you want to get through for the day can give you that added drive to power through.
On other occasions, having a ‘to-do’ list can feel similar to having someone telling you what to do, even if it’s taken from your own mind. This can restrict flexibility if something else comes up during the day that takes priority, which can also create additional stress.
It’s important to remember that you always have a choice. No matter how you write down which tasks you want to box off the day, you are ultimately the one who can move things around, or even leave things tomorrow if needs be.
Creating a ‘could-do’ list
If it’s the terminology that bothers you on any given day, how about simply changing the mentality of facing a task list by referring to it as a ‘could-do’ – or even create a separate list with those less vital tasks that don’t have to be completed that day – which will make your main list seem pleasingly smaller.
A ‘could-do’ list infers that it’s a job that you can do if you want to. This straightforward adjustment in approach can have a big impact on freeing up your mind as you move onto each job.
For example, by listing ‘send an outreach e-mail to Brian’ as a ‘could-do’, means that if you get to this task but you really want to press on with something else, you absolutely can.
Making it work for you
Above all, when it comes to creating task lists, it has to work for you. Having the tools to do your job only works when they are working with you, rather than against you.
