How To Not Start Another List and Finish The One You Have

Stop thinking about getting something done and do it with these five tips.

This is the ultimate productivity post. Because don’t we all need more tips on how to increase productivity? The nitty-gritty of when list-making gets real and ultimately how to not start another list and finish the one you have.

Yes, that one staring your right in the face.

If you’re anything like me, then you know that list making can be an invigorating task and a terrifying one all at the same time. If you experience both of those opposing feelings each time you write out a list you’re not alone.

The reality is lists can be downright daunting.

Especially if they contain a lot of hard tasks.

Say for instance on your list you have; How to eat an elephant.

Okay, no one will ever probably write that on their to-do list {or so we hope} but we all know that task. The one that seems so big, so scary, so overwhelming that you don’t even know where to begin.

So we leave it, we wander, we beat around the bush and hope that some how or some way it will magically just happen. We watch it sit in our planner staring back in that awful red ink you used to love but have now come to loath.

Unfortunately, there is no magical fairy and no magic wand that can make these things disappear without actually digging in and just getting them done. To cross of the hard things, the daunting things, the things you really hate.

But how great does it feel when you cross it off? Invigorating? Maybe that is a bit much, but I can assure you, you feel pretty darn good.

So how do we cross of those last few tasks. The ones that sit in the planner for weeks without ever being crossed off. How do you break down eating an elephant?

As they say it happens just one bite at a time. So here are five productivity hacks to finish your to-do list and avoid starting a new one. May you never move a task from week to week again!

1. Complete the hardest task first

While it seems easy to get a running start and choose the smallest and easiest projects to accomplish first, this can actually do more harm than good. The reality is those tasks that sit on your to-do lists for weeks and months are often the ones that require the most energy.

Even if they aren’t hard things, they tend to be different things that pull and stretch you out of your normal flow. Yes, these are the task that crawl right under your skin and make you want to run for another coffee rather than just beat the time to get them done.

Starting with the most difficult tasks, the ones that seem daunting and overwhelming will provide you the space to do it when you are fresh and energized. Not to mention lift the weight of the burden they’ve been holding on to you in the process. So make sure you are completing the hardest tasks first.

2. Prepare yourself

Life is already busy, chaotic and stressful. We just tend to amplify that by a thousand sticky notes and stashing away too many overwhelming tasks to realistically complete in a day. But knowing that you are going to beat the odds by starting with the hardest thing first can also be lessened by preparing yourself to finish those task.

Preparing can be doing research, brainstorming or even gathering whatever you need to get the job done. The mindless work of piling the pieces on the desk. Then grab yourself something warm to drink, make yourself comfortable, put on some tunes and get those tasks knocked out.

Prepared yourself to make the hardest tasks as easy as possible.

3. Break it down

Just like they say, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The same goes with your to-do list. Whatever task has you stuck and stressed, then break it down. Keep breaking down that task into smaller, more manageable and realistic tasks that can easily and realistically be checked off in little time.

Make sure you keep your to-do list quick and simple. Even if you have big, big tasks to complete, they can always be broken down into more simple pieces that seem easier to manage. Don’t be worried that your list may become twice as long. Remember, the faster you check those tasks off the more energy you will gain and in time the more productive you will be.

More smaller tasks are always easier to manage than few daunting ones.

4. Batch tasks

Context switching is one of our biggest productivity killers. If you really want to accomplish your to-do list and own that thing, get rid of the distractions. Put your phone on silent {or maybe airplane mode if you can’t help but pick it up}, turn off your e-mail notifications, block social media, maybe even shut off the internet to allow mental capacity to focus on one thing at a time.

Once you’ve created space for your full attention, start batching like tasks together. Once you’re on the mental train for whatever task you need to complete, stay on it for the duration. This will help you get twice as much done in half the time than someone who is getting on and off the train entire time.

Context switching is productivities worst nightmare. Avoid it by batching or grouping similar things.

5. Reward yourself

Some tasks just stink. We all have those things we really dread doing, the tasks that seem to paralyze and overwhelm us. But we also know that the best way to build a habit is through reward centers. If you want to become more productive and prevent yourself from creating to-do lists without ever accomplishing them, then try giving yourself a reward for completing one.

We know some people’s reward is the simple strike through from crossing something off their list. However, other people need a little more something-something to look forward to. It could be reading a book in the sun with the extra time you have, grabbing some lunch or sitting in a coffee shop as you really knock off your list.

Reward yourself, treat yourself and celebrate those small wins. This is the emotion that drives our actions. The reminder that hard work pays off and the motivation to finish one list before starting another one.

It’s your turn

Now it’s your time. To take the list you’ve made and finish it. To finally cross out all the tasks that have secretly been holding you back. You can do this, one little task at a time. Don’t just be the list maker but the list conquerer.

Put the white flag down because you are going to own that list!

It starts right now….

Don’t forget, if you need a place to store your to-do lists, make out your day both at work and home and keep you eating really good food, check out our FREE one-week life planner. It’s a home to organize your life, reduce chaos and stress and increase time for fun. Not to mention help you schedule out your meal plans, never forget another grocery at the store and keep you accountable to movement both in life and health.

CLICK HERE to get your FREE one-week planning page!

Let it change the course and direction of your life to something you love!

 

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