Productivity: Beyond the “To-Do” List
When asked how people organize their day to be productive and get things done, most will tell you: I have a to-do list, and I try to complete everything on it.
Sounds good, right? But here’s the tricky part: a small daily list can already be a dangerous recipe for burnout. 🤫
Because the real key to productivity isn’t just writing tasks down. It’s about knowing your estimates.
Being able to estimate how long your tasks will take makes a huge difference.
It helps you create realistic to-do lists. 🗓️
It shows you when it’s time to postpone a project, renegotiate a deadline with a client, or even say no from the very beginning.
A Simple Example
It’s Monday morning. You’re motivated. You want to:
write a blog
answer your emails
finish a presentation for a meeting
do your time tracking for the month
Sounds manageable. But as the day goes on, you might start feeling overwhelmed…why?
Let’s look at it in more detail:
Write a blog: 1 hour
Answer emails: 1 hour
Finish presentation: 2 hours
Time tracking: 30 minutes
That’s already 4.5 hours. Now let’s add realistic (and necessary) lunch and coffee breaks, and it quickly adds up to 6 hours. Let’s also not forget that different tasks require varying levels of effort. For writing a blog, you need to be focused and creative; however, answering work emails might be more routine work and doesn’t require the same effort. This means that it’s after writing the blog you might be able to continue straight with answering your mails, but vice versa, it’s way more difficult and you should take a break after your emails in order to refresh your mind and start the creative work.
See how everything adds up? This example should show you how easy it is to say it’s “only 4 hours” when in reality, we just need more time. And THAT IS OK! It means that we need to set reachable and realistic goals for the day.
Extra tips:
Be realistic. Not everything is urgent. Some tasks can wait until tomorrow. By postponing these topics, you allow yourself to focus better on today’s tasks. With ease 😌
You’ll see where your distractions come in (yes, scrolling on your phone counts). Once you calculate your “time per task,” you will start noticing how often you get distracted. This is good! Being aware of distractions allows you to reduce them and get more focused. 🤓
If you don’t have many distractions and control procrastination, but still have no time to manage all the tasks, it’s a clear sign that you have “too much on your plate” and need to split tasks.
Why Estimates Are Powerful
If you realize that your day simply doesn’t allow for everything, you now have proof. 🤓
With clear estimates, you can renegotiate deadlines with your boss or your clients without feeling guilty. It’s not “just you”; you have it written down. Black on white. You need to reschedule.
Final Thoughts
I hope this tip helps you master your to-do list, work with more clarity, and most importantly, prevent burnout. 🙌😌
Stay tuned for the next blog, where we’ll dive into urgency and prioritization of tasks.
Claudia 🥰