You can’t judge your productivity by your to-do list. If I could, yesterday would have been the least productive day in my life. I only had a few things on my list and finished the day with most of them undone. It could have been super frustrating for me.
But my day was actually filled with dreaming, conversations, big picture items, and unexpected decision-making. I didn’t get to the line-item stuff.
Now, when I’m staring at the screen at five o’clock and see all the things I never got to, I could grow very discouraged. I could feel overwhelmed. But those unchecked items can’t control me.
My to do list isn’t my boss. It isn’t even a necessity. My to do list is simply a list of things I propose to finish today. If I don’t get to them all, it’s because I chose to do other things instead.
I chose. That’s a vital perspective to keep you from getting overwhelmed. I chose to let this person distract me…it was more important. I chose to dream about this more instead of just doing it…it was more important. I chose to let these unexpected events take my time…because they were more important.
When I have that perspective I can do the most freeing thing ever. I can click on those to-do lists…and either drag them to tomorrow or check them off completely. I can either do it later or I don’t need to do it at all.
If you’ve done the most important things, you’ve been successful. You’ve been productive. And you can’t let yourself feel guilty for missing a few things here and there.
That’s how I’m trying to keep my sanity in this busy season of Echo Conference, Sunday| Mag deadlines, and blog requirements. And it’s working. I’m sane.
At least that’s what the voices are telling me.
Good word. I feel like for me that’s always a tension to be managed -the productivity vs. creativity.
Amen to that! Sometimes it’s so hard to remember a to do list is not nessecarily sorted by importance.