The Taming of a To-Do List
The first week back and my to-do list is ever-growing. There are so many things that add up, especially in Todoist, my digital to-do list, where all of the different projects of my life collide. The majority of what fills up the lists are indeed army-related tasks but there are personal tasks that I hold near and dear to my heart.
That being said, I do not mind the activity. It is great! I have things to look forward to. It gives more structure to my days, even though in the army I do not lack structure, but it is externally established. My to-do list at least gives me the impression of being in control, which I do not mind.
Of course, having a strict schedule means that sometimes I can not do what I want or what I would like to do. For example, this Sunday morning I was looking forward to going to the gym, but considering the sheer amount of work I needed to get done it was just not possible.
For now, I am enjoying the ride. It is rather fun to have stuff to do and be a responsible human being, even though it has a certain amount of stress linked to it. I might add that my "productivity" background is rather useful in the given scenarios. I'll share a few of the main things that help me:
- When writing down a task make it as actionable as possible. "Do X project" is simply too vague. To act on the task you have to decide what the actual first step is. So instead break the bigger project down into smaller tasks right away to make it easier to act upon.
- Your head is not a trash bin. Write it down. In my military uniform, I need to have a pencil and a notebook on me at all times. At the first opportunity, I will also add the given task to my Todoist (my digital to-do list), which is my master to-do list.
- Delegate. This was not a possibility beforehand, but in the army, I have a position in which there are people whom I can delegate to. So if You are in a similar position I suggest you learn to delegate, it will free up some valuable time.
Here is an illustration showing David Allen's workflow system. David Allen is the author of Getting Things Done, which is the foundation for most of the productivity systems of our age. It is something to keep in mind.
This Week's Suggestions:
This is one of those songs that a friend sent me way back and I did not think much of it. Then I rediscovered it myself yesterday and I can not get over it. It is a low-key song with some soothing Spanish vocals. Very suiting for this Monday morning!
🎬 How Thomas Frank Accidentally Started a $100k/Month Side Hustle :
This is a quick interview of Thomas Frank, a well-known productivity YouTuber, by Ali Abdaal. What was interesting for me was that Thomas Frank was a rather well-established persona in the video-making business, yet he started from scratch another project and it just blew up. It's a story about following your passions which ends well.
That's all I got for this week! Till next time!