Do you have things on your TO DO list that you really do want to do, one day – but that aren’t that important right now? Are they taking over your TO DO list so you can’t see the important and timely things anymore? Well, you’re in exactly the right place because that’s exactly what we’re going to look at right now. So – let’s get started, shall we…
I bet you have a TO DO list.
You probably have more than one.
Most of us do!
And I also bet that your list gets increasingly long and more overwhelming every time you look at it….
You’re doing the right thing by adding everything you want and need to do to that list – otherwise you’re likely to forget all about it, but the trouble with this is that we can all too easily become overwhelmed by what’s on there.
When we look to see what can be done next there’s just too much to make a quick decision – so we end up doing nothing.
Sound familiar?
Try Creating A Nice To Do List As Well…
What I suggest (and use myself to great effect) is to have a second list called a NICE TO DO list as well as the traditional TO DO list.
This NICE TO DO list can be purely for those things that you would love to do one day, but aren’t critical to get you to your goals – and don’t actually HAVE to be done any time soon (if at all).
Stuff like: –
- Reading a book you were recommended
- Subscribing to a magazine you’d like to start reading
- Making a piece of artwork for your wall
- Learning a skill
- Taking up a hobby
…. basically anything that would make no real difference to you if they never got done (be honest with yourself), but would be great things to do if you ended up with a free afternoon one day or had more time in your weekly schedule when something else finished.
It can be the place where you put your random ideas, things that crop up chatting to friends or searching the internet – we’ve all stumbled upon a few things that we’d love to try/do – if only there was time.
This is the place for those…
Free Up Space In Your TO DO List
So – my challenge to you today is to simple.
I want you to go through your TO DO list and take off anything that is really a NICE TO DO.
Take off anything that would be great to do if you had time – but won’t affect anything if they weren’t actually done….
You may be surprised at how many can be transferred, and what you’ll be left with is a whole lot more of a manageable TO DO list with items on there that really and truly need to be done.
You’ll feel amazing as a result.
Why?
Well – the less there is on your TO DO list, the less overwhelmed you’ll feel, and the more productive you’ll become.
It’s a real win-win!
But What About The NICE TO DO’s?
The beauty of having a separate list for you NICE TO DO’s means that they are all still written down in a safe place, so you can’t forget about them, BUT – you don’t have to keep thinking about them when you need to be focused on what needs to be done asap.
Of course, you can take items from your NICE TO DO list when they become things that you need to do (time can change your priorities etc…).
But if you don’t have the time, and can’t see this changing – then you may want to take a look at your NICE TO DO list when you want some motivation for what you would actually like to be doing with your time, as that may help you to start really tackling your schedule to see what you can stop doing to make time for those NICE TO DO’s a little more quickly.
More focus, and less overwhelm. Sounds good to me!
Having a NICE TO DO list is a really simple but effective trick to make your TO DO list really work well for you, and I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me!
Do you split your TO DO list into those that are necessary and those that you would like to do?
I’d love to know what you think about this – so please leave a comment below.
…and in the meantime – if you’d like to read more about how to make your TO DO list work for you rather than getting overwhelmed by it, then you will definitely not want to miss the MASTER TO DO list post next.