Have you ever had so much to do (or think you have) that everything's just orbiting around your head, you can't catch on to it, and you retreat into a sort of daze of overwhelm?
Or spent ages making a to-do list, been so amazed and deluged by the number of things on it that you end up doing nothing? Just not been able to choose for something, anything?
If getting overwhelmed by the size of your to-do list is a problem, this is for you!
It's a TWO-DO list!
Just TWO things on the list:
That's all!
You can write them down if you want. But even if you don't want, two things are probably not going to overtax your working memory. They'll leave you a bit of swap space to actually carry out the task.
NOW and NEXT
When you're doing the NOW task, the furthest you're allowed to think into the future is the NEXT task. You're not allowed to think of anything else until you get on to the NEXT task -- which of course becomes the new NOW task.
And if you really can't stop yourself having a cheeky think about all of those other things that are waving at you from the periphery of your vision, you can have an AND THEN task lined up to take its place as NEXT once you've done with NOW.
GET STARTED
This two-do list is a great way to get started on action when you have way too many things you could be doing. Chances are, the first couple of actions you undertake will be quite small, quick ones. Clean teeth. Take the rubbish out. Put gym clothes in laundry basket. Format the references for one section of your essay. Decide what you're having for tea.
Then you might have an action to make a brain dump of all the to-dos that are bugging you. Put them on a list or a mind map. Pick one that you'd like to do first. Break it down into five chunks.
But at any time, keep only those two things in your memory: NOW and NEXT.
And, because, like the orange elephant with purple spots, you won't be able to stop thinking about it, task number 3: AND THEN.
Try it out! How did you get on? I'd love to hear from you. Drop me a comment or post on the Facebook page.
Or spent ages making a to-do list, been so amazed and deluged by the number of things on it that you end up doing nothing? Just not been able to choose for something, anything?
If getting overwhelmed by the size of your to-do list is a problem, this is for you!
It's a TWO-DO list!
Just TWO things on the list:
- What am I going to do NOW?
- What am I going to do NEXT?
That's all!
You can write them down if you want. But even if you don't want, two things are probably not going to overtax your working memory. They'll leave you a bit of swap space to actually carry out the task.
NOW and NEXT
When you're doing the NOW task, the furthest you're allowed to think into the future is the NEXT task. You're not allowed to think of anything else until you get on to the NEXT task -- which of course becomes the new NOW task.
And if you really can't stop yourself having a cheeky think about all of those other things that are waving at you from the periphery of your vision, you can have an AND THEN task lined up to take its place as NEXT once you've done with NOW.
GET STARTED
This two-do list is a great way to get started on action when you have way too many things you could be doing. Chances are, the first couple of actions you undertake will be quite small, quick ones. Clean teeth. Take the rubbish out. Put gym clothes in laundry basket. Format the references for one section of your essay. Decide what you're having for tea.
Then you might have an action to make a brain dump of all the to-dos that are bugging you. Put them on a list or a mind map. Pick one that you'd like to do first. Break it down into five chunks.
But at any time, keep only those two things in your memory: NOW and NEXT.
And, because, like the orange elephant with purple spots, you won't be able to stop thinking about it, task number 3: AND THEN.
Try it out! How did you get on? I'd love to hear from you. Drop me a comment or post on the Facebook page.
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