21 Games People Play With To Do Lists

If your To Do list has more than three items, you are in trouble. Why? Because as soon as your list exceeds three items, it actually decreases your productivity. Most people have dozens of tasks on their lists and looking at those lists leaves them feeling exhausted before they even begin. In the face of theses long lists, here are 21 games people play to feel more productive and/or less overwhelmed. All of these activities consume time and none of them help you accomplish more faster. Which ones do you play? Fill your To Do list tasks already completed. Sub-divide tasks so you can check off the part you have finished. List every little detail of new tasks so you can check more things off faster. Copy the list to a clean sheet of paper. Combine all your lists into one list. Separate your list into multiple lists grouped by type of activity (e.g., phone calls, quick tasks, major tasks, morning tasks, between-meetings tasks). Plot your tasks on a double axis chart with two dimensions: importance and urgency. Mark each task with H, M or L. Number the tasks in order of priority. Re-number the tasks. Devise a better scheme for prioritizing tasks. Move the paper list to an electronic tool. Move the electronic list back to paper. Make a request of someone so you can move a task from your active list to your waiting-for-reply list. Schedule a meeting to talk about tasks on your list so you can take them of today's list. Forward emails to shorten today's list further. List activities, not outcomes so you can check things off without actually finishing anything. Read the list in search of items you can finish quickly. Read the list again to see if something else is more appealing or appropriate for your mood. Read the list yet again to reassess priority. Check the list one more time to see if you could possibly cross something else out.

from Forbes - Leadership http://ift.tt/1Uh35W7