How not to get overwhelmed by tasks
Day 84 / 366
People love to suggest things like making to-do lists or time tables in order to be productive and get shit done. What they don’t tell you is that just writing a task down doesn't mean you will do it. In fact, a lot of time, just making to-do lists without taking action leads to a loss of productivity and more importantly morale.
As an obsessive organizer and planner, this is something that I have to deal with a lot. I would learn a new productivity trick, start making plans and plans, and write down stuff I need to do. But when I am not able to finish those tasks, the to-do list becomes scary and downright depressing. It’s like a written record of all of my failures. And it just keeps increasing in length. The long list of unfinished tasks will surely haunt you.
I have a trick that has always helped me get out of this downward spiral. I look at the list of tasks and figure out the 3 tasks which are the most important. If I cannot decide between 2 tasks, I just pick one at random. Once I have these 3 important tasks, I write them on a new piece of paper and just focus on them 3. That is now the new TO-DO list.
When we try to do 100 things, we get overwhelmed and often end up doing nothing. But when the goal is shorter, it's achievable. And that is how you form good habits. You have to start with something easy, something that you can sustain for days and days.
Once you finish these 3 tasks, you will get a feeling of accomplishment, and that will motivate you to do more. You will turn that downward spiral into an upward one. If you are done with the 3 tasks before the end of the day, go back to the list and pick more. Do this for a few weeks and when you are comfortable, start picking 5 instead of 3 tasks.
Remember that you can and should go a bit easy on yourself. There is a whole world full of people out there ready to judge you, so leave that to them. Your responsibility is just to motivate yourself, keep enjoying the small wins and making sure that you keep moving ahead.