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Bogged Down by Lists? Just Say No!

By

Jean Moroney





There is nothing more irritating than using a productivity tool, only to discover that it made you unproductive.

This can happen even with reliable tools, such as list-making. Making a list is the basic solution to overload: it helps you get the issues off your mind and onto paper. But it's possible to a make list that bogs you down and adds to your feeling of being overwhelmed. In these cases, blind list-making is the problem, not the solution.

For example, David Allen recommends putting everything you plan to do on one big "to do" list. (See his book, Getting Things Done. He calls them "next actions," but that's a detail.)

When I followed this advice blindly, I created a gargantuan list of 200 "to do's." That was extremely discouraging. I never could make much headway on the list, so some items would stay on forever. It got so I didn't want to look at the list and be reminded of all the things I would never finish.

The solution was obvious in hindsight: I stopped putting everything on the list, and started making tough judgments about whether a task should be raised to the status of being on my "to do" list. That honor went only to tasks that I was committed to doing. My "to do" list stopped being a parking place for wishes, and started being a useful tool for planning.

Similarly, when writing an article, I used to make a "laundry list" of all the points I wanted to include. But I wanted to include much more than I could possibly communicate. I always had an overwhelming list of points.

The solution was similar: I needed to raise my standards for what went on the list, to make it shorter. Instead of making a "laundry list," I now make a "need to know list," which includes only points that the reader needs to know. This shorter list consists of just the essentials I need to integrate into the article.

There are times when you need to capture a list of every single idea that occurs to you, such as in brainstorming or making a detailed plan.

But exhaustive lists are not helpful when your goal is to get your mind around a problem. Then you need to judge, judge, judge to get that list pared down to something helpful. Judge early, judge often. Don't let a list overwhelm you. Just say no!

Jean Moroney, President of Thinking Directions, works with entrepreneurial people, in and out of corporations, to help them execute better on their ambitious goals. Get her free resource, “The Smarter Starter Kit” to help you jumpstart your projects at http://www.thinkingdirections.com.




Copyright © 2015 Jean Moroney  All Rights Reserved

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