Is Your to do List too Long?
by Dr. Dorene Lehavi
Published on this site: October 8th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
Are you one of those people who is overwhelmed by the number
of items on your to-do list? Unwieldy to-do lists often
have
a mix of daily tasks, projects and long-term goals, and can
sometimes look so overwhelming, we procrastinate even
the simplest of tasks. An easy solution is to create more
than one list.
Are there some things on your list that you transfer from
week-to-week and never complete? Ask yourself the reason for
the procrastination. Perhaps it makes more sense to transfer
some to a project list. If that is the case, break the project
into steps and put only the first one or two steps on your
daily to-do list. And if you still procrastinate a particular
task, it may mean that the task is not so important. Be honest.
If you've been able to put it off for so long, perhaps it
can be removed altogether. A deeper way to probe the procrastination
is to ask yourself if it simply is out of sync with who you
are at this time in your life or out of sync with what you
would truly like to be doing.
Is another task causing you to feel confused and overwhelmed?
Maybe you need more information in order to do it? Getting
that information or support is task number 1. Look closely.
Can you ask someone else to do something for you that you
really don't enjoy? If not, plan to reward yourself when you've
done the task.
In short:
- Break to-do lists into manageable, comfortable steps with
comfortable deadlines.
- Split the big to-do list into separate categories (daily,
projects, long-term).
- Look closely at why you procrastinate, then move or delete
the task accordingly.
- Always get the information you need to decide if a task
is worth keeping.
- Delegate what you can't or don't like doing.
- Reward yourself whenever you complete any task.
Dr. Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level
Business and Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals
and Business Partners. You can purchase her ebook or soft
cover editions of Stop Doing What You Hate.Start Doing What
You Love at http://www.StartDoingWhatYouLove.com
. Contact Dr. Lehavi at [email protected]
or on the web at http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com and
sign up for her free newsletter, Mastering Your Next Level.
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