Great, you’ve made it this far! By now, you might realize that planning and prioritizing become much simpler with a clear direction guiding our motives. To help make this process easier to put into practice, here are a couple of useful tools. Remember, no matter what you’re trying to plan or prioritize, let your inner compass guide you!
Four simple objectives
1)Find a way to remind yourself of what you are doing and why.
2)Find a way to record progress and learning.
3)Find a way to prioritize what’s relevant to the day.
4)Find a way to figure out what exactly to do when the time comes.
Planning and prioritization are critical processes that allow the brain to initiate, sustain, and complete tasks efficiently. These processes often work together seamlessly. For instance, consider the task of baking a cake. First, you need to plan when you’ll bake the cake and ensure you have all the necessary ingredients. At the chosen time, you must prioritize this task over others. If you realize you’re missing an ingredient, you need to plan a replacement. Each step—measuring, mixing, and baking—requires a continuous interplay between planning, prioritization, and action.
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In productivity terms, it suggests that a significant portion of your results or outputs are driven by a small fraction of your efforts or inputs. We use our efforts to work toward who we want to be and the things we want to do. It’s impossible to keep all your plans and priorities in mind at all times. Breaking down your direction into smaller, manageable chunks can help.
Here’s a suggested approach
A life perspective – Journal
A long-term plan, much like our life direction, requires a guiding compass. This guidance cannot be effectively managed with a simple to-do list. Instead, maintaining a straightforward journal where you observe and document the daily happenings in your life can be incredibly beneficial. Specifically, look for opportunities to take steps towards your desired direction, note the challenges you encounter, and brainstorm strategies you want to try out. This journal is not an organized therapeutic tool but rather a record of your life, helping you identify opportunities to work towards becoming the person you aspire to be.
As we discussed earlier, it’s crucial not to be too hard on yourself, even on bad days. How you treat yourself during these “nothing days” significantly shapes your identity. Remember to note every little step you take, not just the big things. For instance, if you didn’t go for a run but took a walk after lunch, include that. On most days, we are only able to take small steps, and it’s important to recognize that we are taking them. Be cautious of avoidance. Ordering a yoga mat is a good step towards wanting to be physically active, but it’s not the same as actually stretching for five minutes. Learn to recognize these tricks that your brain plays.
It’s best to do this journaling at night, starting by reminding yourself of where you currently are and recognizing where you want to be. Opportunities are often not lost; we just fail to see or remember them.
In this journal, cover all the essentials: Did you work out? Did you eat healthily? Were you kind? Were you assertive? Also, include thoughts and emotions that hindered you from accomplishing your tasks. Additionally, have a wishlist page where you can jot down things you want to buy, places you want to visit, or people you want to reconnect with. The wishlist should include tasks you’d like to do but not immediately, which we will revisit in the response inhibition section. This journal will serve as both a brain dump and a wish list, keeping the important things visible and noticeable.
Example: Imagine you aspire to become more physically fit and mindful. In your journal, you note that you took a walk after lunch and felt more energized. However, you also write about a moment of frustration when you skipped your meditation session because you felt too busy. Recognizing the importance of being kind and accepting of yourself, you acknowledge this as a learning moment rather than a failure. Reflecting on this, you identify that prioritizing mindfulness is as important as physical activity. You then jot down a strategy to try a shorter meditation session tomorrow. Additionally, on your wishlist page, you add “buy new running shoes” and “visit the local botanical garden” to enhance your fitness and mindfulness journey, recognizing that these tasks are important but not urgent and will be revisited in the response inhibition section.
A task perspective: A daily list
This is not a traditional to-do list; instead, it’s a set of tasks you want to prioritize throughout the day. Every morning, scribble down or put a note on your phone with all the tasks you aim to complete that day. Once you have your list of tasks, use two letters to mark them:
E: Emergency: Must be done today to avoid consequences.
U: Urgent: Not an emergency yet, but could quickly become one.
Unlike the Eisenhower matrix, do not include tasks that aren’t important on this list. If it’s not important, you don’t have to write it down, do it, or keep it in your head. The daily list should only contain the bare minimum of what needs to be done. Once the bare minimum is completed, move on to your wishlist. If additional tasks come up, only add them to this list if they are urgent or an emergency; otherwise, move them to the wishlist in your journal.
When people try to create such lists, they often doubt their abilities and try to complete tasks prematurely. For example, I am someone who is comfortable doing things at the last moment. The only change I needed was to extend this “last moment” to a couple of days rather than the final minute. While making your daily list, remember your strengths. Overloading yourself will lead to a constant feeling of being overwhelmed and a persistent worry that you are not doing enough, which doesn’t really help!
While writing this list, please use descriptions of what you will actually want to do. Do you want to start a task, read about it, make decisions, create a draft, continue to work on it, refine it, or submit it?
Example of a Daily List:
Submit the project report (E).
Buy groceries (U)
Reply to important emails (U)
Prepare for tomorrow’s meeting.(U)
This list includes only the essential tasks. Once these are completed, refer to your wishlist for additional tasks if you have the time and energy.
A Micro-Perspective: An Actual To-Do List
When you’re feeling overwhelmed or stuck and you’re unsure how to convert your daily priorities into action, then it’s time to turn to a to-do list. Select one task from your daily list, break it down into 1-3 straightforward actionable steps, and jot them down on your to-do list. I recommend keeping this list concise, with no more than three items at a time. Additionally, ensure that there is not more than one item from your daily list on your to-do list at any given time.
Keep this list alive and refer to it whenever you feel paralyzed or lost. By breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps, you can streamline your plan and reduce the resistance to starting. For example –
Submit the project report:
Turn on the laptop.
Login to your work account.
Revise the introduction section.
As you navigate your daily tasks and priorities, your chatter will constantly try to hijack your priorities. The earlier sections about watching the chatter, observing thoughts and emotions, and anchoring will become essential to you staying on track.
By being observant and watchful of your inner dialogue, acknowledging your feelings, and grounding yourself with your senses as required, you maintain clarity of direction amidst the chaos of daily life.
P.A.C.T.
- Plan with a purpose: Use a journal to define your goals and track progress.
- Actionable steps: Break down tasks into small, achievable steps on a to-do list.
- Categorize urgency: Prioritize tasks based on urgency (needs to be done today) or emergency (needs to be done to avoid consequences).
- Time for wishlist: Keep a wishlist for important but non-urgent tasks.
PACT focuses on the key actions of planning, breaking down tasks, prioritizing, and keeping track of future goals.