Did you read my last email about setting appointments for your
tasks? If you missed it, you can still read it by clicking here.
Have you ever noticed how your mind will distract you in the middle of an important task to remind you of something else you need to
do?
Imagine that you know that you need to buy milk on the way home from work. All day, your mind keeps reminding you ... "Don't forget to buy milk!" It is distracting and annoying.
However, you mind is programmed to do this because it doesn't trust you, or more specifically, it
doesn't trust the system you are using to keep track of all the stuff you have to remember. It keeps taking things from the back of your mind and moving them to the front, so you don't forget.
This is an enormous waste of mental energy and keeps you from truly focusing on the task at hand.
If you want to stop your brain from distracting you from the important things you are working on, which will allow you to get more done in less time, then you need to get that junk out of your head.
As quickly as possible, relieve your brain from having to remember everything by writing it down in a system that you know will keep you from forgetting
things.
This is why To Do Lists work. Once it is on the list and you know that the list is safe and that you will check it regularly, you don't have to think about it.
It is important to take all those ideas you have and create a list of projects and tasks for the future. You don't want to forget
them, but you don't want your mind to constantly be reminding you about them.
Create 4 lists, labelled like this:
1. Today
2. This Week
3. This Month
4. The Future
If there is something you want or need to do, add it to the appropriate list, based on when it needs or can be done. Make sure you are realistic about how much each list can
hold.
Keep your Today list with you at all times.
Review your This Week list every night and morning and move things to your Today list that you will do in the next 24 hours.
Set a time each week, maybe Sunday night, to review your This Month list and move things to your This Week list.
Each month, review your Future list to decide what is priority to get done in the next month.
It is a simple system that keeps your mind free to focus on what needs to get done today and still ensures that all those important tasks and great ideas will get done at the most appropriate time.
