Don’t Over-Plan

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Written by: Melissa Dylan 283 views

If you pack your day with things to get done, you may psych yourself out before you start. Before you tackle the long To-Do List, you’ve given up and started watching Major League Baseball instead.

I regularly have a task list longer than a 10-year-old’s Christmas wish list. It haunts me from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed. Some mornings I don’t even bother trying to get anything done—there is so much, it just feels impossible.

The other day I uncharacteristically had no specific plans for the day—but a mondo To-Do List. After dropping off my kids at afternoon daycare, I decided to tackle the most important thing: buy toilet paper. (Imperative, no?) Once my trip to the store was completed, I allowed the minor sense of accomplishment to catapult me into my second project. Then a third. Then a fourth. Before I knew it, I’d spent five hours completing over half of my list—something that certainly wouldn’t have gotten done had I sat down and planned it that way. If I’d known I had that many things facing me that afternoon, I would have talked myself out of it before I even began.

Try being more flexible. Have a list of things that need to be done—eventually. When you begin your day, tackle the most time-sensitive items first. But give yourself permission to take it easy. Take breaks when you need them, while still staying task-driven. If you get one thing done, don’t feel like you have to move immediately on to the next thing. You might find yourself surprised at your willingness to move on.

When the pressure is off, it’s easy to move straight to the next thing. Next time, don’t give yourself a list of tasks that you MUST complete by the day’s end. Have a flexible list, and work from there. It’s much easier to remain productive when there is no pressure to perform.

by Melissa Dylan