"You can be busy all day and still have gotten nothing done."
It's like playing a game of cards, or more factually like being the pawn in a card trick! We want so very badly to be productive, to work towards our goals, to accomplish what needs to be accomplished...but as all artists and creatives know, that is much easier said than done. We see all that needs to be accomplished before us and we often choose with abandon, not with a decision. We pick a card and do the easiest or most appealing task. Often times, like a card trick, we are only lulling ourselves into being busy instead of actually being productive.
We are visual, tactile, and emotional - all wonderful traits that make us exceptional at what we do....but what happens when we aren't doing what we need to do? We lose track of the goal, we lose site of the end result and often we miss wonderful opportunities. We pick a card instead of choosing one. We all know what we must do, yet it is in the action of getting it done that is what shall make us or break us as they say. One of my most hated and most treasured tool to choosing instead of picking is my To-Do list; yep you heard me!
We all have them; the infamous “To-Do List”…just thinking about it gives me a little shiver down my spine! How about you? Did you feel that shiver, get goose bumps or had to stop yourself from closing the post?! LOL! Have I lost you yet? Trust me when I tell you this is NOT about how to make an awesome to do list and become a productive artist through manipulation of said list!!
As a matter of fact, for quite some time I actually refused to create To Do lists, because the sheer enormity of ALL that I needed to get done actually created mini panic attacks in my psyche - which of course wreaked havoc on my creative mind (not long ago I sat down in frustration and wrote down every. single. thing. that needed to be done - four double sided pages later, I poured myself a glass a BIG wine and considered torching the papers!) During the time while I was NOT making lists, I attempted to rely on my memory, believing that if it was important enough, then I would remember it. Hahahahahahaahahah ahaha ahahaha hah hahah....ha...sigh...yeah, I'm an idiot sometimes, but I do crack myself up! My memory is not what I wish it was...nor could it be!! That is asking a bit too much from that portion of my body!
As an artist though I have come to realize that the To Do list, as long as it may be and as scary as it appears sometimes, is still quite critical in my world of accomplishments. It keeps me on task, it reminds me of things I've forgotten, deadlines that need to be met, people I need to connect with and all the things in between. But the important part is not just having a to-do list, it is learning how to focus and be productive. Also, when I am in fact productive and finish my tasks, there has always been a strong sense of satisfaction each time I get to cross something off the list!! DONE
What we need to realize though is that unrealistic 'To Do' lists truly do undermine our effectiveness in at least two important ways:
- Having a huge list of tasks will distract, overwhelm and confuse us (see paragraph above) and this takes focus away from any one matter, and we end up not doing anything! Pick a Card, I say... any card!
- When we do not finish our list of tasks we become less motivated, discouraged, and this in turn effects our self-confidence, which then diminishes our ability to complete our tasks, which of course leads to guilt and panic for things left undone! Especially when we continually pick the wrong card. It's a terrible cycle!
First we must truly come to terms with the fact that there is NEVER really enough time to do everything on our to do list in one day, one week and often times even in as much as a month or a year. There are legitimate limitations to our time, our energy and especially our emotional state. So, we MUST come to that true understanding before we can successfully create, evaluate and choose what truly needs to be done; because there IS ALWAYS enough time to do the important things!
Well, you ask... what would be the next step in picking the right things to do?
Step two: We must come to peace with the miscreants that wreak havoc on our motivations:
1. Busy Work: This is anything that you feel virtuous about without the work actually contributing to your success. For many of us, this is truly the BULK of our to-do lists. Here are a few examples of Busy Work:
- Reading or replying to emails that you neither actually contribute to or gain something from.
- Completing something purely out of habit, that doesn’t require your attention.
- Attending meetings or gatherings that again you neither gain or contribute much of anything.
- Attempting to “perfect” something, that is fine just how it is.
- Multi Tasking. Yup I said it! Multi tasking is an illusion, it is busy work at it's most destructive...it does not actually accomplish anything properly, because we are unable to give anything our full attention. This is especially true if we consider some of the particular 'time sucks' that generally hide as multi tasking while we are doing other things. In fact, it has been shown that mulit tasking actually slows us down considerably!
2. Time Sucks: This is a close second but much more dangerous than Busy Work! These are things that we all do a great deal of, in an attempt to ‘clear our heads’ or to just ‘take a quick break’…but always end up sucking up more time than we thought it ever would!!
- Most EVERY social network, even those that we are doing for our work! Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Blogs, Linked In, Flickr…all of them! We must learn to limit the time we spend on these. They are valid and useful, but must be done in moderation! Scheduled even!
- Leaving our work space, studios, writing desks... to get a snack, to clear our heads, to find something we didn't bring with us….this almost always turns into a great deal more time sucked away than just a regular ‘break’ in our process. We get the mail, do a quick inventory of the fridge, we linger longer than we should....
- Taking a phone call, or engaging in text conversations, Skype or IMs that do not have anything to do with what needs to be done.
- Online or Mobile games: scrabble, words with friends, solitaire, checkers, backgammon, sudoku, spades....etc.
- Googling something valid, and then start perusing the rest of the entire world wide web!
"I can't really remember, but I think my life must have been a lot more productive before I discovered Facebook..." ~ Author EVERYONE
3. Malingerers, which are items that feign importance, but truly aren’t. They will successfully work their way from one to do list to the next constantly and continually, but they are never completed…because they are not important!
These things in themselves are not inherently bad, but they do steal time, energy and concentration from the important things that actually DO matter. If it is a task that moves on from list to list, then for the love of your sanity….let them go!! Better yet, cross them off and consider them done! They are cards that do not need to be chosen. One day you may feel motivated to take on one those pesky tasks, well then wonderful, but take them OFF the to do list!
4. OPP’s or Other People’s Priorities. Most everyone has these all over their list, often without evening realizing it! They hide and become ingrained so deeply that you will not see them unless you take a really good look! You need to check your list for anything that doesn’t reflect your own priorities, and cross them off the list. Here are some of the places they can be hiding:
- The type of work you ‘should’ be doing
- The way in which your work or home ‘should’ function
- The types of meals you ‘should’ be cooking
- The types of activities you ‘should’ enjoy
These "shoulds" are just a way of disguising the items that are not of our choosing but of someone else's desires and ideas...throw those cards out - they are just a bunch of Jokers!
5. Memory Monsters We also all have those to do lists in our heads that never even make it to paper! Projects or items that we are always meaning to get to … the unorganized junk drawer, the bag of clothes to donate, the business plan left undone, the oil that needs to be changed, the doctor’s appointment that we’ve been avoiding (or more likely the dentist!), carving out a space specifically for us to create in, updating our website, starting a blog, creating a proper portfolio... Did you just think "oh my god, I forgot I need to do that"?! THAT invisible list is probably the largest non-productive characteristic to everyone’s to do list arsenal! We must keep it at bay, with sword and shield if necessary! If it's important enough, then write it down....otherwise it will be lurking in the back of your mind creating creative gunk when you most need full use of your fabulous imagination!
Now ... we have all read about, heard about, looked into, purchased and attempted to embrace all different types of meaningful to do lists. How to de-clutter our to do lists. How we should only have three priorities in any given day. Our lists should be shorter. If we us a certain product then we will be more focused. If we read a daily blog about how to keep a tidy to do list....then we will be able to finish things with greater clarity and confidence! Well, these are all wonderful and helpful products that may or may not help us to truly work our full to do list. Often times though, they are simply another distraction, another task to become accustom to or another way of possibly improving which we never quite embrace. So we are not going to talk about those things this week either...I know you thought we were...but we are NOT!
TO-DO LIST FACTOIDS:
- 66% of people cross things off their lists, 21% check them off, 4% write an 'x' next to each item and 5% do nothing at all
- 50% of people admit to writing down task they have already done, then crossing them off triumphantly!
- More than 83% of people still prefer the tactile experience of writing lists as opposed to electronic devices. Yes!
- 96% of people say their lives are better with a to do list, 89% even say they enjoy it, and 28% consider themselves obsessive listmakers
- Approximately 26% of listmakers have a To-Don't List as well!
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work. --Richard Bach
This week our task is NOT to consolidate our to do list, it is NOT to cull our priorities, it’s NOT to choose three things to be important today…. This week, this WHOLE WEEK, is for us to choose ONE one card, yes just ONE! One task that we have been meaning to do, hoping we’ll find the time to finish, something that never ever seems to get done….we are going to choose it, work on it every single day this week, keep our focus and get it finished!!
Sounds unrealistic you say? How could we only have one priority for the whole entire week? There are sooo many things that need to get done we couldn’t possibly choose just one….actLally yes we can! Having only one priority does not mean that we will completely ignoring other things that need to get done – chores, work assignments, dinner, time with our kids, our instruments, our brushes or bench. It simply means that we are scheduling ONE priority that we will concentrate on. ONE thing to put all of our attention and energy into, so we can start and finish that ONE thing!
The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
This process will have the benefit of radically simplifying and intensifying our commitment for the week; but it will also help us to understand and actually put into action what it feels like to pick just ONE card! I have decided that I am going to put more time into the recreation of my website...each day, every day, that will be my work priority. Everything else, will in fact work itself out. I promise you! The pure freedom of having only ONE priority will make you crave for more of it. More of the freedom, accomplishment and success of having one priority.. and hopefully what will happen is that we will learn to incorporate this in smaller increments....ONE priority per day perhaps. We could even go so far (when we master it) to get down to ONE priority an hour! Think of it, things being finished, stuff getting done, crossing things off our to do list!! Ahhhh, like sunshine to the dark ToDo List soul!
To begin we must pick ONE card for the week....and the of course do it. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as it is only ONE thing! And if you are so amazing that you complete it before the week is up, then pick ONE more thing, and do that...so on and so forth...
“To Do Today, 1/17/08
1. Sit and think
2. Reach enlightenment
3. Feed the cats”
― Jarod Kintz
If you must work steps to get down to your ONE priority, try this:
- Build a NOT TO DO list (or a "To NOT Do" List), a list of lower value tasks that have clawed their way into your day, squatting in there taking up space that they do not deserve and does not belong to them! You know what I mean - no not EVERYTHING on your to-do list is vitally important...so make a NOT to-do list!
Now that you have made a NOT to do list, your To-Do list is likely cut in less than half! What’s left you should begin to delegate, transfer to other people or outsources them. I know the little control freak is in our minds is saying this couldn't possibly be done, no one can do it as well as I can, etc. etc., blah, blah, blah! It doesn’t need to be perfect; it simply needs to be done! So pass it on!- Now of the few things that are left, ask yourself if there is a better way to do any of them? Most successful businesses prosper by finding new ways to do things. IF there is another way to do it, this is NOT the week to figure them out…simply put them on the Better Way To Do List, and let them go for this week…
Now, with all of these steps accomplished, you should have somewhere between one and five things on your list! PICK ONE….just ONE, and concentrate on it all week until it’s finished! If you accomplish it quickly (which is likely because you will not have the rest of the pesky to do list monsters in your head) you can go on to the second item or even the third if you get to it. The point, the main point, the ONLY point….is to start with ONE THING. Pick a card, any card….but work on it all week! Even if you do not finish it, then it will likely be much closer to done that it ever was last week when it was simply making you feel overwhelmed and unmotivated!!
Last but not least, at the end of the day (each and/or every day) make a list of everything you have actually done. The big and the small things; you could even do it now.... but do it, give it a look, and cross EVERYTHING off, because they are already done! Now that is some satisfaction! Now go pick a card!!
Cheers,
JeaneMargherite Meria McMahon Murray Schintgen
(yep, that’s my name, don’t wear it out!)
I would love for you to “check me out” in my other realms…..
