Why the “To Do” list doesn’t work (and what can be done about it)

The “To do” list is all the rage these days.  Just like Time Management, which is a total lie.

If you are a ‘To-Do list” person, just follow through the thought process with me.

Have a look at one of your lists now.  If you call it a ‘To-Do list”, then pick one thing off the list and allow yourself to look at the picture you can see of that item.

Before you read any further, take the time to actually do that.

If you haven’t done it yet, don’t bother reading any further… this isn’t for you.

For a huge percentage of the population, when you picture an item on a ‘To Do list”, you will see a picture of yourself standing in front of that task, or you will see a picture of yourself at the start of the task.  We’ll come back to this in a minute.

Now, change the name of your list.  I recommend called it a ‘To Be Done’ list.  Let’s see what happens.

Pick the same item as above, and recognise that it is now on a ‘To Be Done’ list.

In the comments section below just type in the first thing you see –  what seems different to you when you look at this item on a ‘To Be Done’ list?

Do that before you read on… I will be checking the comments and I’m keen to read about your experience.

If you are like most of my clients, the difference is that you will see a picture of what this task will look like when it’s Done.

You’ll be more able to see the requirements for you to complete the task – what time will it take, what resources are required, what tasks are to be delegated, etc.

It’s what I call The Power of Done.  The more you think about what is to be Done, the more you will get done.

If you’ve found this helpful, let me know what it did for you and share it.