Guilt-free productivity system

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Guilt, like pain, is a very useful signal: It means you are doing something you should not be doing. So when we feel guilty about “not being productive enough”, why do we do the same thing twice as hard?

In this issue of Deliberate Internet, I’m going to share my simple to-do setup designed to minimize guilt, distraction, and, most of all – Get Things Done.

3 principles for Productivity

Procrastination is also a signal: It’s your brain telling you that it’s not convinced you are serious about whatever task you need done. Maybe you are not clear enough about what exactly it is to be done, or you present your poor brain with an endless list of “stuff” and demand “anything” be accomplished.

I found these 3 principles very helpful in unlocking productive output:

1. It has to be very clear what should be done right now.
2. It has to be clear what is not to be done right now.
3. You have to trust yourself that important things will get done.

These 3 principles can be implemented using 4 lists that can exist on paper, in a todo app, or anywhere else:

4 lists for productivity

In it’s simplest form, my productivity system relies on splitting my todos into four lists. It’s important not to see the others while focusing on each one. Here are the lists:

1. NOW list holds the things that should be done right now. Once you finish your current task, this is where you look for the next one. There should never be more than 10 items here, and everything above 5 is excessive. Each task should very clearly state the next step to get whatever you need done going.? “Call Alice to gather requirements for Project X”? “Project X”
2. LATER list holds the things you decided are not to be done right nowYou are committing to these things LATER, just not right now. This list exists so you can trust yourself to guilt-free remove things from NOW while knowing that you will get to them at some pointMoving an item from NOW into LATER counts as productive work, as it is a deliberate decision. Look at you being all productive! I typically review this list once a week, or when I’m done with everything in NOW and have a moment to spare
3. FOLLOWUP holds the things that are waiting for some outcomeThese are the things waiting for external circumstances, where you should be informed of something:Waiting for a government response, you already scheduled a plumber visit, and he has to repair your sink, etc.The purpose of this list is to build trust in the system: the fact that you scheduled a plumber visit does not mean the problem is solved. The FOLLOWUP list exists, so you can trust that the problem will be solved even if the plumber will be a no-show.I will typically review the FOLLOWUP list once a week and remind the other parties (like the plumber) if they are running late.
4. INBOX holds the things you just thought of and didn’t prioritize yetThe first reason for that list is so you don’t flood NOW with new items without thinking about your priorities or the exact steps needed to accomplish the task. The second reason for that list is that thinking about the next steps requires time, and it’s better to note a vague reminder in your inbox than drop whatever you were doing. I will typically review this list once per day.

Here is how this system removes the guilt feeling associated with an append-only neverending giant todo list system? most people practice:

1. You are never opening a scary to-do list. NOW is always a manageable 1–5 items with clearly defined steps.
2. You are not spending time and mental energy scrolling an endless blob of stuff to find something actionable.
3. LATER is not threatening, because you already committed to doing these things, well – later. You might choose doing some of them NOW if you feel up to it.
4. Your workload (“NOW”) matches your current resources. You are not committing to more than you can do. Try it and feel the guilt lift.
5. Because you review INBOX, FOLLOWUP and LATER periodically, you trust yourself to see things through. No balls dropped = no guilt.

What to-do app do you recommend?

If you are an iPhone user, I recommend trying the built-in iOS Reminders app.

1. Rename the default iOS Reminders list to “Inbox”
2. Create 3 new lists: NOW, LATER and FOLLOWUP
3. Put a widget with the NOW list on your home screen.

That way:

• You will always see your todos
• You will be able to add new todo items via “Siri, remind me to XYZ” and it will end up in your inbox
• Your list will be synced with your Macbook

I am also working on my own, open source todo app. I will share more later, but email me if you have a WordPress and want to try it out.

Have a Deliberate week, and may you never feel guilty about your to-do list!

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