Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to accomplish tasks, don't just work on them.
Speaker 1: Because I write about productivity, I've seen many people to
Speaker 1: do lists. Creating a to do list is wise, but
Speaker 1: I've noticed a common flaw. The lists will often contain
Speaker 1: items such as work on proposal, or work on lesson plan,
Speaker 1: or work on novel. It matters how we frame our tasks.
Speaker 1: These goals to work on things are nebulous. I mean,
Speaker 1: what exactly does it mean to work on your taxes
Speaker 1: or to work on a blog post. This uncertainty is
Speaker 1: the enemy of productivity. We're better off framing our plans
Speaker 1: in terms of accomplishments, not what projects we plan to
Speaker 1: work on. Without specific benchmarks, you can picture how this
Speaker 1: fuzziness plays out in the course of a day. When
Speaker 1: you plan to spend the time before your next appointment
Speaker 1: working on your blog, well, what does that mean? You
Speaker 1: may do some reading on the topic you're planning to
Speaker 1: write a ballot, or you may write and rewrite the
Speaker 1: headline and the opening paragraph until they're perfect, and then
Speaker 1: your time is up. You don't have much to show
Speaker 1: for yourself. But suppose you sit down at your computer
Speaker 1: with a specific intention of drafting two blog posts before
Speaker 1: your next appointment. You have a discreet, achievable goal. With
Speaker 1: that clear goal, you pace yourself to get the work
Speaker 1: done on schedule. When it's time for that appointment, you'll
Speaker 1: know whether you've achieved this goal or not. If you
Speaker 1: have great. If you haven't written both posts, well, you'll
Speaker 1: need to figure out a time to finish them later,
Speaker 1: and maybe that's not optimal. But you will remain aware
Speaker 1: of your progress and can make adjustments to stay on schedule.
Speaker 1: So how do you shift your perspective and attend to
Speaker 1: what you plan to accomplish rather than what you plan
Speaker 1: to work on? First, and most importantly, build a smarter
Speaker 1: to do list with clear deliverables. To do lists with
Speaker 1: nebulous items like closet or new program recruiting rarely lead
Speaker 1: to progress that's rapid and significant. Aim for to do
Speaker 1: list entries like this, write two blog posts, box up,
Speaker 1: winter close and put them in the attic. Identify five
Speaker 1: organizations that can help recruit people for our new program.
Speaker 1: These are tasks that you either did or didn't do
Speaker 1: you know when you're finished, and if you don't finish,
Speaker 1: you know how much is left. Of course, even clear
Speaker 1: deliverables can be problematic if they're not realistic. Write two
Speaker 1: chapters in my book is clear, But if you've only
Speaker 1: got two hours allocated for this, you'll still feel overwhelmed. However,
Speaker 1: the good news is that clear deliverables can help you
Speaker 1: see quickly if you're being realistic or not. Try listing
Speaker 1: all the specific steps involved in cleaning out your garage
Speaker 1: and you'll see what I mean nebulous tasks. Just let
Speaker 1: us lie to ourselves. If you've been guilty of making
Speaker 1: nebulous to do lists, it can be hard to change
Speaker 1: your habits, but I do think it's possible to change
Speaker 1: your mindset over time. Try using this language of clear
Speaker 1: doable tasks rather than what you're working on when you're
Speaker 1: narrating your actions to yourself or anyone else. If someone
Speaker 1: asks over lunch what you did that morning, you can say,
Speaker 1: I posted the listing of a new house for sale,
Speaker 1: or I wrote the agenda for June's staff retreat. If
Speaker 1: you have no idea what you did, well, it happens
Speaker 1: to all of us. But let that be a nudge
Speaker 1: to set clear, doable intentions in the future. Don't just
Speaker 1: plan to work on things because that's sneaky little phrase
Speaker 1: can just tank our productivity in the meantime, This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for list name and here's to making the most
Speaker 1: of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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