An Overwhelming To-Do List? Time it, Trim it, Transform it.
Channel: George Kao
Date: 2018-03-07

When faced with a long list of tasks, here’s what I do…

TIME it:

I decide how much time I have right now (e.g. on my calendar) to work through this list of tasks.

Let’s say that I have 1 hour right now.

TRIM it:

What are the important tasks (from the to-do list) that I would be wise to fit into this time that I have now? I don’t necessarily have to complete the tasks I choose— I can simply make some progress on the important tasks.

Mark those important items, e.g. add a star next to it or make it Priority 1.

Trim the rest of the to-do-list: Delete them, make them optional, or remove or postpone the due-dates.

TRANSFORM it:

I then get started with those important tasks.

Before I do that, I remind myself that my state is my top priority (and not any of these “important” tasks.)
https://medium.com/@georgekao/do-your-work-from-an-inner-spark-of-joy-77e75fe814cd

Therefore, I transform my relationship to the moment by doing a quick energy reboot.

Then I can work on those tasks from a higher perspective, about what is truly important.

Another process I use that is complementary to the above:

Capture it, Categorize it, Calendar it: www.georgekao.com/blog/ccc

This allows me to have specific times in my calendar to work on specific categories of tasks.

Then, when I’m working on a category of tasks, I will use Time it (already done), Trim it, Transform it.

Let me know if one or both of these systems are helpful to you, or if you have another process that helps you to work with a long lists of tasks.