E34/S2 LIST LOVER - You’ll never remember everything so learn to love your to-do list

Abdul, a new employee, receives advice to keep a daily to-do list to manage his tasks. As he starts compiling his list, it grows larger and larger, becoming overwhelming.  A colleague suggests that rather than listing everything he needs to do, Abdul should focus on what is most important to get done today and how much time he should spend on it.  To stop being overwhelmed, Abdul should resist the temptation to demand that his list tracks everything he should be doing and instead prune it to within an inch of its life.  He should prioritise his list by asking if the task needs to be done today, by him, or at all. Keeping a modest, well-kept list can make life at work more manageable.

There are different ways to keep a to-do list, such as computer-driven ones or scribbles on a whiteboard. However, your list will inevitably keep growing.  So it's vital to focus on what's most important.  Break big projects into smaller tasks but without necessarily always adding these to your daily list. Make sure you prioritise your lists and keep refining them so you can plan.  If your to-do list is at more than five or six items for the day, you should rethink it. To avoid failure, your list should not be stuffed with goals, minor tasks, and many jobs that need doing.  Instead, you can just list what you will do next and when there are unfinished ones at the end of the day, think hard about whether to add them to tomorrow's list. Finally, ask yourself if you spent the intended amount of time on each task, if you got distracted and why?

Can't wait for Series 2 to run its course? Then buy Andrew's new book, published on Amazon, and there's also an Audio version. Further reading and videos: Andrew recommends some useful follow-through material which you can find for each episode at

www.myhappinessatwork.com/reading/categories/research-reading

and

www.myhappinessatwork.com/watch. BOOK: The 50 Ways to Succeed at Work book is a standalone companion to Andrew Leigh's weekly podcasts. It's an essential resource for all job starters and those at work for a few years. Dip in and out and take what seems helpful.

www.myhappinessatwork.com/book