The Done List

I usually have a "to do" list.  Actually, I usually have several.  There's at least one at work, and one at home, and one in my head, and the one from a few days ago that is partly checked off and has some of the same items as the new one, but only because that's what I could remember after losing the list in the pile of things I was sorting while working on the "sort the pile" item on the list.

OK.  Enough of that.

The "to do" list certainly helps me get things done, but I'm not convinced it helps me get the most important things done.  If I use it as a way to keep track of everything that is begging for attention, there is always much more on it than I can keep up with.  It's like I'm stuck in a swamp of stuff, and whatever is closest gets the attention. No matter how much I do there's still too much stuff left.

I needed a way to step out of the swamp.  From that vantage, I can look into the swamp and decide what is important enough to pull out and work on.

Lately, instead of focusing on the "to do" list, I've been creating a "done" list each day.  It starts out as a blank sheet, and I only record something on it when I've finished it.  I have to think about what I'm going to do next, which gives me an opportunity to pull something appropriate out of the "to do" swamp - something that I want to do and fits the time I have for it.

After I've chosen the task, I have one thing clearly in mind to do, so it's easier to stay focused on it.  Sometimes I get interrupted, or have to go to a meeting before I finish, but I come back to it.

At the end of the day, I can review the accomplishments on the "done" list.  Everything on it is completed - some are smaller pieces of a longer project, of course.   I'm usually pretty satisfied with the results.  I know that everything on the list is something I made a deliberate choice to do.

Tomorrow I will start a new list, but standing outside the swamp, not hip deep in it.