In “Write your worries away,” Jo Haigh describes a practice of jotting down worries in a notebook as they occur. She says that this helps to reduce her worry because, “I look at it more objectively for a start, but what is really powerful is when I come back to look at it again, either in a few days, a few weeks, a few months or even years, I realise just how unimportant in real terms it was.”
I’ve discovered something similar with to-do lists. Writing down a task takes it off my mind. Instead of trying to remember everything that needs doing, and worrying that something may be forgotten, all I have to remember is "Check the to-do list."
Over the years, I’ve read a few best practices for to-do lists. One is to focus on the three most important items each day (to avoid feeling overwhelmed). Another is to move finished tasks to a “Done” list instead of deleting them; being able to see what’s accomplished is powerful encouragement.
While many people like Ms. Haigh use paper journals or calendars to track things, I’m a fan of electronic ones. In part, that’s because the order of tasks can be changed easily. With many apps, reorganizing is as simple as drag-and-drop.
I’ve also discovered the power of cross-platform task apps. Personally, I use Google Tasks to keep a record in the cloud. When I’m at my home or work desktop machine, the app is easily accessed by keyboard. On the road, I can reference the list on my tablet (which later syncs whenever wi-fi is available) or use my smart phone to quickly add tasks, edit them, or rearrange the list.
In effect, the cloud becomes backup memory for my own brain, a cyborg relationship that allows me to focus on the work at hand. Not only does that reduce stress, as Ms. Haigh describes, it also provides a record of all I’ve accomplished today, this week, this month, this year, and so on. That’s both encouragement right now and a good source of future résumé material.
—Lester Smith
Comments