Doing this one thing will keep you inspired and motivated at work

Human beings are creatures of habit. Habits shape our life, from bad to good and from good to better until we reach the best. However, keeping company with bad habits could also mean the cycle gets reversed and you start to move in the opposite direction.

This is a post about one such habit that helped me shape my career. And, it will do the same for you as well. The habit I’m talking about is keeping a to do list for the things we have to do in a day.

“Simplify the way you manage your projects and teams. Switch to a project management software.”

The problem we all face

Let me share a common scenario we all face in our day to day life.

We start the day with full energy, thinking we will do the best to make the most of the productive hours we have in the day. Most of us rely on our brain power to remember the things we are supposed to do. But at the end of the day we either miss out on a few things coz we forgot about them, or we simply did not have the time to do them because some other task occupied more time than we thought it would. This is just one rough example. Analyze your daily routine and you will figure out what you have been missing out on by following this routine.

What’s the solution?

Now that we have a pretty good idea about the problem we have been ignoring for all these years, in comes the time to discuss about solution for the same.

The solution to this problem lies in these three words - To Do List. Here’s how a to-do list can help you make the most of your productive day -

Never miss out on important things

“I forgot to send that important email to the boss. I’m screwed.” Amidst the excitement of long weekend, Amit forgot to send the all important project status email to the manager.

This is not just Amit’s story - how many times has it happened to all of us when we forget to do something important simply because we relied on our mind to remind it. Let’s add a to-do list in this scenario. If Amit had been using a to-do list, he would have simply glanced at the list before leaving for the day and sent the email in a breeze.

Manage each and every minute of the day

A to-do list keeps you on top of the things that are in store for the day. What you need to do, when you need to do it and how much time you need to invest in it - everything is available at one place.

With a tool like ProofHub you can eventually set the start and end day for a task. Set an expected time in which you think the task can be completed. So, you can always have a rough idea of how much time you need to spend on the task. Hence, the scope of missing out on a task just because you forgot about it is completely negated. You have complete control over your day and your activities.

Don’t let the day run you

Run the day instead. A to-do list helps you not just keep track of what’s in store for the day, but at the same time work great to prioritize your activities as well. I use ProofHub’s task list to stay on top of everything that I’m supposed to do. And, whenever I have something important which I cannot afford to miss during the day I simply add a label for the same.

This way ProofHub helps me not only make gives me a clear picture of what I’m supposed to do for the day, but it also ensures that I don’t end up missing on doing something on which my life hangs, like what happened with Amit in the story mentioned in the first part of the article.

Bring sanity in your life

What makes a to-do list inseperable part of my life is the fact that it helps me keep my senses intact. I don’t lose my calm juggling through different tasks.

I have a clear schedule lined up in front of me, which I can take a glance at whenever I want to.

So, whenever an unwanted task pops up in the middle of my day, I can quickly add it to the existing list based on my availability or let it wait until the next day. This way ProofHub’s to-do list helps me stay sane no matter how many important projects or tasks I have to be a part of at work.

Become the best version of you!

Doing this simple thing can help you become the best version of you. Like I discussed in the beginning of the post - we humans are creatures of habit. The habits that you create today are going to define you in the longer run.

Once you get into the habit of keeping a to-do list to maintain record of your daily tasks and to plan your day, you will eventually get the motivation to keep delivering the best of your ability. Rather than getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, you will always have a roadmap of where you have to reach by the end of the day, and in which direction should you move.

Would you not want to become the best version of you? If you do, then give an ouster to your old habits of relying on just your brain power for managing your tasks for the entire, and rope in a technology like ProofHub.

Originally published at Medium.

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Vartika Kashyap runs the marketing team at ProofHub — a project management software for teams of all sizes. She is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016 & 2017. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.

Also follow our company page @ProofHub to get the recent updates about our tool, published articles, motivational quotes & presentations.

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