philosophy button
Archive for June 25th, 2010
What to do when your to-do list has you completely frozen
Friday, June 25th, 2010
I don’t know if you’ve ever been here before, but lately I have found myself so overwhelmed with my to-do list. It seems as though the list keeps growing …and I’m not able to do anything to shrink it. One thing I’ve noticed is this: When my to-do list get’s too big, everything I have to do becomes both “urgent and important” (to steal from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). I become overwhelmingly unproductive, uncreative, and unmotivated. To put it nicely…I freeze up. So here are a few things I do thaw out:
1. Shorten the List to Bite-Size Chunks
I have come to realize that I can only accomplish 4-5 major tasks a day. Anything else is just gravy… and should not be expected.
2. Take Strategic Breaks
I slowly slip into madness when I stare at my screen for hour on end. I become so much more productive when I take short 5 minute breaks every 45 minutes or so. Get up – walk around – have a short conversation with a friend or colleague. Take a break! You’ll be more productive…as long as you keep them to 5 minutes and not 45. 
3. Tackle the Easy Stuff First
Generally, I like to do the hard things first, but when I’m frozen with too many tasks I’ve come to realize that it helps to just complete something. After I’ve checked off 2 or 3 smaller tasks, I find that I’m on a roll and ready to tackle something a little more challenging.
What’s one thing you do when you freeze up?
If you like this post you might try these
philosophy button
