Our lives are getting busier – and more interrupted – than ever. Keeping the focus and getting those millions of things done is a big challenge. I studied a lot of books and techniques to solve this problem, but I personally found them way too complicated and practically useless quite immediately.
Therefore I ended up designing a flow that has two main goals: first, be extremely simple to implement for everyone and, second, make you feel accomplished at the end of day, instead of constantly stressed out. We implemented this 3-step flow (and lot more) in Kyber to make it even simpler, but it can be followed with just paper and pen.
1. Write down everything you want to do
This is simple but fundamental: if you don’t have a complete list of the things to do in one place, there is no way you can get them done. Writing things down helps you see the big picture, pick priorities, and, psychologically, makes you feel more in control and less stressed about forgetting things.
When listing items, always break down complex tasks into simpler intermediate, specific, steps: don’t write “Kitchen remodeling” or “Deliver school paper by next Friday” but rather “Search for best dishwasher model online” or “Get book for research”.
WHAT TO DO: Write down everything you need to do as soon as it comes up to your mind. Everything.
If using Kyber, type your tasks (or use Siri) in the Timeline section if you already know when to do them, else in Scratchpad section.
2. Plan your TODAY
Now that you already have probably tens new to-do’s listed, pick the important ones you will focus on TODAY. Not today and tomorrow, not this week, but just TODAY. It’s important. Else, overwhelmed by the list, you don’t know where to start. And even if you know, you will never finish all of them, not because you are an unproductive loser (that’s how we end up feeling with these never-ending lists!), but simply because, let’s be real, you only have a limited number of hours during the day and there is not much we can do about it.
Depending on the complexity, pick let’s say five of them, and try to get those done. The difference is that now you will more likely have your list cleared at the end of the day, you will feel accomplished and in control instead of stressed out and hopeless.
WHAT TO DO: In the morning, pick limited number of tasks to do today.
In Kyber, go to Scratchpad section and tap on When to add the task to Today section.
3. Now, just do it
Now the plan is simple, short and actionable: you have no excuses. Look at the list, don’t think, and just do the first task of the five, important, you planned. Do you get distracted or interrupted? Sure, it’s our lives these days: go back to your today’s list to immediately refocus on what to do next.
WHAT TO DO: Keep going back to the plan and simply act on it.
When completed, mark the task Done in Kyber to track progress against your daily plan.
Try it for a week and you will see the results!
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