Why I Don’t Keep Daily “To-Do” Lists
The key to success in life is deliberate purposeful living. This consists of four things:
- Defining what success means to you;
- knowing what you need to do to be successful
- why you need to do it, and
- a practical “how to” do it.
Most of us think about purpose in January when making new year resolutions, or when we are creating our life plans, but after that we get too involved in the mundane day-to-day tasks to carefully consider whether these tasks are contributing to our overall success.
Today, I’d like us to consider a method of tracking tasks that makes us more conscious of our overall purpose,and how it ties in with the day-to-day tasks you do. I’d want you to join me in trashing the daily “to do” list, and embrace weekly goal setting in the major aspects of your life namely:
- Spiritual
- Physical (diet and exercise)
- Relationships
- Work
- Serving / giving back
- Finances
I call these areas my Big Six. Your weekly goals don’t have to be huge, but in each of the above areas, you must do at least one thing every week, all focused towards accomplishing your life plan.
Why track them weekly and not daily?
If you’ve tried keeping a to-do list for work tasks, you’ll bear witness that no matter how much you try, each day there are more things getting on the list than there are getting off. This is a poor way to live, because each day is spent focusing on things you failed to do yesterday. Not very motivating.
A weekly to-do list is a list just like the daily one, but it is more about the broader intent. We can call it a “to be” list.
Assuming you already have your updated life plan in place, this article recommends focusing on your relationships, and your biggest goals in life, on a weekly basis. It gives the following tips on how to do this:
1. Start small: We are trying to build a habit here, and like all good habits, it’s easy to get demotivated. Start by setting modest goals, and every week, appraise to see if you can alter them depending on how much you are able to accomplish. Michael Hyatt is a big proponent of the weekly review,which is basically a weekly event where you review the past week’s events, tasks, meeting notes etc, and use this time to set the agenda for the following week. This is one thing I haven’t been doing, and intend to do every Sunday afternoon / evening.
2. Create 2-4 goals per week: These should be your rocks. Like I mentioned, it’s very easy to get so wrapped around the daily mundane tasks, that you forget the bigger picture. With the rocks already in the container, then you can fill in the sand (In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, read this article which talks about putting big rocks first, by the late Stephen Covey). Once you have picked your 4 goals, fit the rest in, around these goals.
3. Ask yourself if accomplishing this goals is enough of a success: Ultimately, habit is about staying motivated. Pick goals which when you accomplish you’ll feel motivated to do even more.
As you do this, remember that you are your relationships. Focus on building relationships, because ultimately that’s what counts.
Try do a weekly review coming week, then set weekly goals, see if it helps you increase the quality of the work you do.
