Uh Oh, Time to Get More Stuff Done

By bohed via Pixabay

So, if you've been playing along with my "how to be more productive" posts here, you are already getting two things done every day, right?

If you don't know what I am talking about, start here (wherein you'll get something done every day for two weeks).

After two weeks, then move on to this post. Don't rush it. You really need to establish the habit of completing something every day before you start getting particularly ambitious about it. And once you've gotten in that habit of completing two things a day for a month, come back and pick up here.

OK, you've caught up? The good news? We'll give you just a little more time to get used to this upped ante. The bad news? There's one more rung in the ladder to climb and it will come in three months.

But hey, look what you've accomplished! If you've been playing along so far, that's:

1 task a day for 14 days
2 tasks a day for 30 days

And now you'll pull 3 tasks a day for the next 3 months (92 days if you are counting).

So by August 7, you will have completed 350 tasks off of your to-do list. Sounds huge, doesn't it? OK, forget I ever said that number and focus on this number instead. THREE. That's how many tasks you need to knock out today. And tomorrow.

Need some more tips? Here goes:

• Write them down. If you haven't been writing your tasks down, you will certainly need to start. There's also a neat satisfaction of scratching them off a list.
• Keep a backlog, but keep it separate. You likely will continue to have new things flooding in that you need to do. Keep that list, and keep it handy for reviewing, but separate it from your daily list. You don't want to feel overwhelmed by what you are not doing, you want to feel success over the things that you are doing.
• Do at least one of the tasks on your list as soon as possible and complete two before noon. Your afternoon will get bogged down.
• Stay away from time wasters until you have completed your three things. That includes TV, Twitter, Facebook, etc. In fact, you can avoid those while you complete a few other things, too.
• Reward yourself with some small break for completing your tasks. Give yourself five minutes of Twitter. Read a few of my blog posts to entertain yourself. Stand up and take a quick walk.
• If you finish early, pick the important tasks for the next day before seeing what else you can accomplish that day.
• Remember, it's only three things.

Hopefully this helps, and August 7, I'll check back in with the last "upgrade." Has it worked for you so far?