Peace of Mind Organizing

Building ease into your task list

14 January 2021

It’s 5:30 pm on a Thursday and for the fourth day in a row, I’ve been disappointed by how few items on my task list I was able to accomplish. I thought to myself, “Why can’t I get anything done?” Then I thought about what I did actually do this week. For example, I attended three webinars, as well as a NAPO-St. Louis chapter meeting. I communicated with clients, prospective clients, and team members. I handled my company’s and family’s financials each day and I helped my husband put together an exercise bike. I talked on the phone with one friend and Zoomed with another (so important these days!). I did yoga every morning. And now (finally), I’ve blogged.

In fact, when I look at my Trello daily task management board, I see that in the four days so far this week, I completed 91 tasks. (That includes my daily tasks, like taking my nutritional supplements.)

My point is this. The problem isn’t my productivity. The problem is my task list. And it’s also my mindset.

My Word of the Year for 2021 is ease. My week thus far has not been filled with ease due in large part to the unrealistic expectations I set for myself every day this week.

So here’s what I’m going to do to build in some ease. I’m going to shift a number of my backlog tasks (the ones from which I choose my daily tasks) to a “Parking Lot” list and set a reminder to look at them in about three months, Until then, they’ll be off my mind.

Tomorrow, I’m going to identify my top three tasks (outside of my usual daily tasks) that I want to get done. As I select them, I’ll keep in mind what’s most important to me. And when I get them done, I will allow myself to be happy and satisfied.

It’s important for me to write down my tasks—and I’m still gaga about my Trello task management board—but sometimes that results in an unwieldy and overwhelming task list. So here’s what I’m going to try. For the rest of the month, I’m going to mindfully curate my task list with ease, not productivity, in mind. I’m not someone for whom ease translates to slacking off. In fact, I’ll probably get as much done after I focus on ease as I have during this week of struggle and disappointment.

It’ll be a fun experiment and it’s starting now! I’ll report back at the end of the month.

Tagged with: ease, task list, task management, trello

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