This link has been bookmarked by 22 people . It was first bookmarked on 02 Aug 2006, by Jason Lister.
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12 Apr 15
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26 Mar 15
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be careful not to to turn your to-do list into an ad hoc project plan.
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Keep your to-do list a sacred tabernacle for current activity, and maintain longer-term task and support materials as well as appointments where they belong--in a project support folder and your calendar, respectively.
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Make a habit of pruning your list of completed, dead, and obviated tasks. To be effective, your list should be alive-- a functional dashboard for understanding the immediate work at hand.
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Why Am I Doing This Task?
This is important. When compiling a list of all the stuff that's on your mind (and on your plate), it's crucial to unpack how each task you accept or assign to yourself will support your projects, your roles, and the goals you've set for yourself. Before adding a new item, reflect on the value that each chunk of work brings to your world.
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If it’s on your list, it’s a commitment
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So ensure that your to-do list honors these reasonable limits and keeps you focused on the work that's most valuable to you.
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This actually takes a surprising amount of discipline and requires making a kind of deal with yourself; no more treating your to-do list like the hope chest where you toss all the stuff you should be doing or might maybe be doing.
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Solving common hang-ups
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Get a running start
Start off your day or your week by giving yourself several tiny tasks that can be accomplished in just a minute or two each. Aim low, and don't be embarrassed to make these really, really easy jobs.
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Cringe-bust your to-Do List
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You can “cringe-bust” your to-do list by printing out a complete set of current tasks--preferably in alphabetical rather than priority or project order. Run through the list quickly, placing a check mark next to any item that causes you the slightest anxiety or concern. The idea is to root out the items that you dread doing.
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04 Oct 14
stuza1 .!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep it Current
something that CAN be done now..be careful not to to turn your to-do list into an ad hoc project plan.
Now, now, now
...current activity, and maintain longer-term task and support materials .... in a project support/calendar.
You should theoretically be able to choose any item from your list and start on the task immediately.
Trim, toss, and refactor ..
Why Am I Doing This Task?
Is this the best use of my time right now?
Am I the best person to do this task?
Is this something that must be done now? Why now?
What happens if I don't do this at all?
If it’s on your list, it’s a commitment -
18 Apr 14
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- Is this the best use of my time right now?
- Am I the best person to do this task?
- Is this something that must be done now? Why now?
- What happens if I don't do this at all?
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what tasks will you choose. The bottom line is that both those blocks and the box are ultimately your responsibility, so brace yourself for some hard decisions on where your priorities lie.
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This actually takes a surprising amount of discipline and requires making a kind of deal with yourself; no more treating your to-do list like the hope chest where you toss all the stuff you should be doing or might maybe be doing. The to-do list is a plan, and it’s a contract
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Even when the ball is in someone else's court for the moment, always give yourself timely reminders to ensure that it returns to your side of the net when it's expected and needed.
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On your second pass-through of the list, make a note on a separate piece of paper highlighting why you've been avoiding each task. Is it fear of failure? Boredom? Garden-variety anxiety about the outcome? Whatever your reason--and do be honest with yourself--generate a new to-do for each item that addresses the “cringe” rather than the actual to-do that's causing it.
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18 Mar 14
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Keep it Current
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Now, now, now
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Trim, toss, and refactor
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Why Am I Doing This Task?
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Before adding a new item, reflect on the value that each chunk of work brings to your world.
-
- Is this the best use of my time right now?
- Am I the best person to do this task?
- Is this something that must be done now? Why now?
- What happens if I don't do this at all?
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If it’s on your list, it’s a commitment
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Look at each addition to your to-do list as a personal commitment to completing that action. Bear in mind that every minute you spend working on one task is necessarily a minute you cannot spend working on another.
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The to-do list is a plan, and it’s a contract
-
Solving common hang-ups
-
Get a running start
-
Start off your day or your week by giving yourself several tiny tasks that can be accomplished in just a minute or two each.
-
Aim low, and don't be embarrassed to make these really, really easy jobs
-
Clean the keyboard,” “Empty the trash,” and “Add paper to the printer”
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Delegate actively
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resist the urge to shift responsibility for ensuring their timely arrival
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always give yourself timely reminders to ensure that it returns to your side of the net when it's expected and needed.
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Cringe-bust your to-Do List
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placing a check mark next to any item that causes you the slightest anxiety or concern. The idea is to root out the items that you dread doing.
-
econd pass-through of the list, make a note on a separate piece of paper highlighting why you've been avoiding each task.
-
Is it fear of failure? Boredom? Garden-variety anxiety about the outcome?
-
generate a new to-do for each item that addresses the “cringe” rather than the actual to-do that's causing it.
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deflate the cringe-y task by replacing it with a more active, manageable, and unintimidating one that drains the situation of the power to control you
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cross out both tasks with a thick red marker, and give yourself a high five
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20 May 13
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10 May 13
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Remember: you should theoretically be able to choose any item from your list and, given the proper tools and context, start on the task immediately
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- Is this the best use of my time right now?
- Am I the best person to do this task?
- Is this something that must be done now? Why now?
- What happens if I don't do this at all?
Why Am I Doing This Task?
This is important. When compiling a list of all the stuff that's on your mind (and on your plate), it's crucial to unpack how each task you accept or assign to yourself will support your projects, your roles, and the goals you've set for yourself. Before adding a new item, reflect on the value that each chunk of work brings to your world.
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07 Feb 13
carlblais"Start off your day or your week by giving yourself several tiny tasks that can be accomplished in just a minute or two each"
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Start off your day or your week by giving yourself several tiny tasks that can be accomplished in just a minute or two each
-
Even when the ball is in someone else's court for the moment, always give yourself timely reminders to ensure that it returns to your side of the net when it's expected and needed.
-
Cringe-bust your to-Do List
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31 Aug 12
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Remember: you should theoretically be able to choose any item from your list and, given the proper tools and context, start on the task immediately. Reveal hidden dependencies and move the later items someplace else; there’s no shame in tracking the small task that will keep things moving (and doing it is even better).
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This is important. When compiling a list of all the stuff that's on your mind (and on your plate), it's crucial to unpack how each task you accept or assign to yourself will support your projects, your roles, and the goals you've set for yourself. Before adding a new item, reflect on the value that each chunk of work brings to your world.
-
- Is this the best use of my time right now?
- Am I the best person to do this task?
- Is this something that must be done now? Why now?
- What happens if I don't do this at all?
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Try imagining your available time and resources as a wooden box--a fixed amount of space that can only contain so many cubic inches of “stuff.” You'll be filling that box with wooden blocks of varying sizes, each of which represents a separate task on your list. The bigger the block, the more time that task will take (and the more metaphorical space it will require in your box). Got it?
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The to-do list is a plan, and it’s a contract. If you’re not sure you want to do an item, take it off the list.
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Getting good at this stuff is a process. Don’t expect to be an instant master of the to-do on your first try.
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You can “cringe-bust” your to-do list by printing out a complete set of current tasks--preferably in alphabetical rather than priority or project order. Run through the list quickly, placing a check mark next to any item that causes you the slightest anxiety or concern. The idea is to root out the items that you dread doing.
-
On your second pass-through of the list, make a note on a separate piece of paper highlighting why you've been avoiding each task. Is it fear of failure? Boredom? Garden-variety anxiety about the outcome? Whatever your reason--and do be honest with yourself--generate a new to-do for each item that addresses the “cringe” rather than the actual to-do that's causing it.
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17 Aug 07
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17 Apr 07
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28 Dec 06
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02 Aug 06
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