![]() ![]() Some people resist this kind of structure, however. As Bechman notes: “Simply writing the tasks down will make you more effective.” However, when participants were allowed to make and note down concrete plans to finish the warm-up activity, performance on the next task substantially improved. ![]() The pair observed that people underperform on a task when they are unable to finish a warm-up activity that would usually precede it. More recently, a study by professors Baumeister and Masicampo from Wake Forest University showed that, while tasks we haven’t done distract us, just making a plan to get them done can free us from this anxiety. The deed was done and the brain was ready to let go. After the dishes had been delivered, their memories simply erased who’d had the steak and who’d had the soup. The so-called “Zeigarnik effect” – that we remember things we need to do better than things we’ve done – stemmed from observing that waiters could only recall diners’ orders before they had been served. Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik was perhaps the first to note the brain’s obsession with pressing tasks. In less harried days, our memories might have done the work. Knowing the difference between what you can delegate and what you alone must do makes managing professional and personal lives life far simpler and happier.Cohen puts our love of to-do lists down to three reasons: they dampen anxiety about the chaos of life they give us a structure, a plan that we can stick to and they are proof of what we have achieved that day, week or month.Ī system is needed – and scribbled notes on hands won’t cut it. “Sometimes, however, the task is mine and mine alone. I ask: ‘Is this task better suited to another team member?’ and ‘Can I delegate this to anyone else so I can focus on things I have to do myself?’ As tasks come in, ask yourself: does this belong on my to-do list, on someone else’s, or is it not worth anyone doing for now?īausch says: “I sometimes ask myself, ‘What don’t I need to spend my time on?’ and make delegation decisions. That helps to lessen the mental load of thinking about all the tasks swimming around in your periphery – you’ll know that if it’s on your not-to-do list you don’t need to think about it today.Ī not-to-do list can also be a way to delegate and prioritise. Rather than letting your mind get cluttered with stuff that belongs in the rubbish, you can quickly sort out trash into a receptacle and put it out of sight and out of mind. Having a not-to-do list is a bit like having a massive bin in your brain. It’s for all those requests that come in at work that really aren’t your job, for tasks that don’t need to be done today, for things that aren’t that important, and for stuff you just aren’t able to take on right now. “Think: will this one thing matter in a week, in a month? If the answer is no, zap it to your not-to-do-list in a nanosecond.”Įssentially, a not-to-do list is a practice in saying ‘no’ and being more strategic about what you take on. Say no to items that aren’t vital to do today. “Consider each item: does it have to be done now or today? If not, put it on today’s not-to-do list. “Get out your to-do list and move some items to a not-to-do list,” Bausch recommends. This doesn’t mean just sticking on every possible task in the world (skydiving, dating Brad Pitt, etc), but instead being conscious of requests that come your way and working out if they really need to go on your to-do list… or if they instead belong on your not-to-do list. It’s simple: a not-to-do list is a list of things you don’t need to do. ![]()
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