Notwithstanding having made a very specific list of things to do today, I almost immediately digressed into related tasks that were not on the list.
This failure mode requires further attention, as does (possibly) what is a suitable to-do list entry.
Further breakdown: The task turned out to have hidden problems, and so I started solving the problems in order to complete the task, which is fine, but not what i intended. I also didn’t think before writing down the task ‘might this task involve problems?’
Related failure: I do not feel productive, because the work I ended up doing was not the work I planned to do*. So I need to either get better at sticking to my list, or update on what merits feeling productive.
I wonder if I’d feel productive if I hadn’t had a list at all?
* Edited to add: Maybe the reason I don’t feel productive is because I have done a bunch of work but not reduced the observable pile of work that needs done.
I’ve found it useful to add time-estimates to my to-do list, and I stop adding things once I have eight hours of work down for the day. For me, the “I’ve acheived everything I set out to today” feeling comes partially from getting lots done and partially from setting realistic expectations.
I usually make a schedule on my gcal, but I don’t put much effort into being accurate with time estimations—a couple of quick tasks can share half an hour; larger tasks usually can’t be completed in a day so they get whatever chunk of time I feel like allotting them, often 1.5-2 hours. Then I feel like I have accomplished things if I actually get done all my little tasks, and if I actually do my big tasks for at least most of their allotted time.
I’ve had the same “aha” moment about realistic expectations, and scheduling has helped, but … it seems like maybe the novelty has worn off or something?
Notwithstanding having made a very specific list of things to do today, I almost immediately digressed into related tasks that were not on the list.
This failure mode requires further attention, as does (possibly) what is a suitable to-do list entry.
Further breakdown: The task turned out to have hidden problems, and so I started solving the problems in order to complete the task, which is fine, but not what i intended. I also didn’t think before writing down the task ‘might this task involve problems?’
Related failure: I do not feel productive, because the work I ended up doing was not the work I planned to do*. So I need to either get better at sticking to my list, or update on what merits feeling productive.
I wonder if I’d feel productive if I hadn’t had a list at all?
* Edited to add: Maybe the reason I don’t feel productive is because I have done a bunch of work but not reduced the observable pile of work that needs done.
I’ve found it useful to add time-estimates to my to-do list, and I stop adding things once I have eight hours of work down for the day. For me, the “I’ve acheived everything I set out to today” feeling comes partially from getting lots done and partially from setting realistic expectations.
I usually make a schedule on my gcal, but I don’t put much effort into being accurate with time estimations—a couple of quick tasks can share half an hour; larger tasks usually can’t be completed in a day so they get whatever chunk of time I feel like allotting them, often 1.5-2 hours. Then I feel like I have accomplished things if I actually get done all my little tasks, and if I actually do my big tasks for at least most of their allotted time.
I’ve had the same “aha” moment about realistic expectations, and scheduling has helped, but … it seems like maybe the novelty has worn off or something?
What happens if, when you encounter unexpected work, you put it on your list before doing it?
Then I feel fine about it! But I didn’t realize I was doing off-list tasks this time.