Believe it or not, ditching your to-do list can actually free you up and make you even more productive. But how can you get more done if you don’t keep a list of what needs to be done? It’s simple: pay attention to the world, not a sheet of paper. Below are some of ways in which productivity can improve without the list and the advantages of post-to-do-list life:
I always wondered how people who don’t use to-do lists remember all the tasks they need to complete if they aren’t reminded of them constantly. Then one day it hit me: people who don’t keep a to-do list get things done as they come up. They don’t put tasks off for later by writing them down; they see something that needs accomplishing and they just do it.
A to-do list is just an excuse to procrastinate. Instead of living with that excuse, ‘non-to-do-listers’ complete chores as they arise. If they see dirt, they clean it up. If they have a work assignment due, they work on it. If they think of someone they haven’t spoken with in a while, they call them. Because if they don’t do it then, they’ll forget it and it will never get done.
How rewarding it is when you’ve crossed out every item on your to-do list. There’s no better reason to sit back, relax, and reward yourself for having accomplished everything. In order to clear your list, you worked hard even after you hit the wall, and when you finished, you were completely beat. But it doesn’t have to be so exhausting. Don’t let the list dictate your life; if you have high energy, go out there and see what can be taken care of, and when you hit your wall, take a break and relax. You’ll eventually establish an even flow of productivity that keeps you churning out great work.
It happens to every to-do lister. We get so wrapped up in our list that we start writing things down we do regularly, like if we straighten our homes daily, we write “Clean” on the list. It feels like we’re cleaning every day, because we cross it out every day. But instead of being receptive to the world around us, we’re ignoring some of the bigger issues. If we think we’re already cleaning by simply straightening, we tend to let the more infrequent major scrubbing and dousing that needs attention go unnoticed.
Don’t lose sight of what actually needs doing in order to fulfill what you think needs to be done. If you don’t keep a list, you’ll be more attentive to the world around you. Chores will call to you, and you’ll be able to listen.
Once you’ve abandoned the list, the things that can’t be done or simply aren’t done won’t mock you. I had items on my list that were months away from being able to be completed, but there they were, every day, calling out to me from the little lined paper hanging on my refrigerator door. Once I let go of the list, I filled out my calendar to reflect the tasks in the future and finally felt the chains of the list lifted.Our days are dynamic, and so are our moods. Sometimes we’re just not in the mood to be completing chores all day, and we’d rather go to the beach or read a good book on the couch. Sometimes we just want to curl up in sweatpants and watch television until our heads feel numb. And that’s okay — that’s a part of living. Go with your intuition every once in a while. When you’re older, you’ll never regret the days you decided to travel, to surprise a family member, the day you tried something new, the long walks you took, or the times you relaxed in the sunshine. But you’ll certainly forget the days you spent slaving over your list of chores. So allow for those fluctuations of mood that take us to new places, those unexpected dips and bends that remind us life is much greater than the list.
There are a lot of fantastic productivity apps out there that cost a decent chunk of change like OmniFocus, Things, Microsoft Office Suite, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t free alternatives that are just as good or even better. 26 Free Cross-Platform Productivity Apps to Help You Get Things Done
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With a master’s of fine arts degree from New York University, J. Audrey Hoy has served as an Adjunct Instructor of Creative Writing at NYU and is currently a freelance writer. Originally hailing from the Chicagoland area, J. Audrey has previously resided in Iowa City, Brooklyn and currently lives in Burlington, Vermont. She spends her free time reading, writing, and enjoying the outdoors.
I am most productive on Friday evening when the week’s activities are all laid out in front of me and everyone else is gone. Then, I make it my job to bridge all five days worth of momentum into the following week by organizing my thoughts and plans into draft emails that get sent out first thing on Monday.
I’ve learned to build my daily to-do list around this time slot. On principle, I focus on one objective and three key tasks each day. Usually, I’ll warm up in the first hour with a task that can easily be completed within 30 to 60 minutes before throwing myself into these key projects worth my peak effort and intensity. All secondary objectives are restricted to hours 7 through 24.
From about 11:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., I always seem to get hit with a wave of energy and productivity. It’s usually when I get my writing done and answer media inquiries or interview questions. There’s something I love about getting a few things done when the neighbors’ lights are out and people are going to sleep.
I have time in the morning to plan ahead, complete my toughest task and catch up on social media. Then, it’s meetings time, and by the time they’re done, my brain’s rarely fresh enough to get anything really meaningful completed.
In the evenings, I can finally find some undisturbed time to myself. This is my time to concentrate on all of the independent work I need to do that I never find time for during the day. I take this time to answer emails, review materials and address different projects.
Lunch punctuates every work day, and I try to keep at least a couple free every week to be alone with my thoughts. Things that bother me about my business may not come to the surface in the hustle of the day, and I find it most convenient to leave lunch open for those “aha” moments.
My most productive hours are probably from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. When I first get in, I check my priorities, organize my day and start getting on the grind around 11 a.m. Mental preparation in the morning really helps me.
I have a lifestyle that I haven’t let go of since I was a kid, or maybe I’m just not a morning person. I’m very productive at night because I get a second wind around 7 p.m., and I can focus because the rest of the business world is dormant. At night I can focus with clarity on projects such as writing this response, doing reports, organizing myself and much more without my phone going off.
I wake up each weekday at 5:30 a.m. to spend the first 30 minutes of my day writing. I journal about what I’m grateful for and about what I’m dreaming of living into that day. Setting up my day that way helps me focus and act from a place of appreciation before I start diving into projects and problem solving.
It is hard to argue with morning being the most productive time of the day. Our focus is like a gas tank that we have to fill up each night. All the things in our life use up that focus fuel, and by the end of the day, it’s tough to be productive. I like to go to a coffee shop first thing and try to do high-value tasks such as planning and reading before I jump into the emails and meetings.
I’m most productive in the afternoon because in the morning, I take care of all of my emails, voicemails, small to-do items and planning. That leaves me free in the afternoon to work on projects, talk with clients, write articles and simply get things done.
During the regular work hours, it is often impossible to get a lot of meaningful work done because of everything else going on around you. At night, when the office is quiet and the world around you is going to sleep, ultimate productivity can be achieved.
So, you have finally found what you are passionate about, you blog about it regularly, you love to write and come up with new ideas, but nobody ever told you all the other bits that were involved in blogging. The guest posts, the commenting on other blogs, the social media requirements, the eBooks, the eCourses and that’s not including the other job you may be holding down.
There are many definitions of leadership, many quotes from highly revered people that sum up the essence of leadership. Perhaps the most well know is Gandhi’s
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I’ve just spent the past two weeks in South Africa. I love South Africa, its people, its diversity, its beauty. But one thing that I am reminded of every time I visit is how life in Africa can be much simpler. Time moves more slowly and life takes on a different rhythm; the majority of African people have learnt to live with less. This is my goal and my current journey; to live life with more simplicity, to unburden myself and to eliminate the excess in all areas of my life.
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Often I come across highly productive people in their business environment whose home life can only be described as horrendous chaos. They are in control at work but the minute they step through the door in the evening, their control, order and discipline eludes them. The work habits and ethics don’t carry through.
While technically we are still in the throes of winter here, the weather gods seem to be signalling the start of spring here, regardless!
There were some stunning facts released recently from both Twitter and Facebook:
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Catch the wave...get into flow.
