I don’t do very well with to do lists. Easily filled, they confuse me. What should I do first or what is most important to finish? Everything on the list seems the same. I need to get this AND that done. Will I ever find impact in my life when everything looks the same?
Frustrated by all of the types of to-do templates I have tried, I spent a few hours last night trying to see what really makes something important for me to do. Was it simply because I thought so?
Starting with my cluttered list of items, I began to write one down and then next to it I would write what the outcome or benefit would be achieved by completing it. Slowly, as more rows were added and columns filled, I began to realize that it is the desired outcome or goal that determines a to do list item’s value.
We are poor judges of a to do list item’s value when we don’t understand what outcomes we want from them. It’s as simple as this and still very hard. Aligning your actions through your day, to an outcome you desire, is the only way we can find impact in our lives.
Never have I constructed a to do list in this way. Without attaching a goal or outcome to what I need to get done, I would simply wander. Pulled this way and then that way through the day, mistakenly feeling good when I could cross items off of my list.
Finding impact is the key to leveraging your strengths or focus to achieve something new or different in the future. Getting in the habit of writing the goal or outcome you want to achieve when you add something to your to do list is the secret to aligning your steps today with your dreams of tomorrow.
Care to try?