Whalespeak

I love Dave Allen’s Getting Things Done, and my life is governed by to do lists. In fact, managing my system can be a pleasant distraction from actually doing work.

One thing I notice from time to time is that some tasks sit around on my list forever, never going anywhere, always being demoted in favour of other tasks. And these build up and up, until a list is a big, unwieldy mess and I don’t know where to begin.

Short to do lists are great.

If something has been hanging around for a while or a list has grown too large, I ask these questions:

1. Do I really want to do this?

Is it on your list because it’s something you think you should be doing?

2. Do I need to do this urgently?

If it’s not urgent but you still want to do it someday, move it to another pile. Put it in your calendar or your “one day I’ll get round to it” list.

3. Is there a step I need to complete before I can do this?

You could be delaying something because it’s actually the second step in a process. Sometimes these first steps are so small or obvious that we don’t articulate them. Like phoning a friend to recommend a restaurant before you phone to reserve a table.

4. What stops me from completing this?

Are there psychological barriers holding you back? Maybe you don’t want to clear out your office because you’re afraid of throwing out something important. Think about your hang-ups and maybe work on those first. Acknowledge them and move on, or do what you need to do to heal them.