Todo Zero

What if I suggested that you finish each day with nothing left on your todo list? This is the only rule of Todo Zero.

You might find yourself biting back some choice words. This sounds like unhelpful advice from someone with a much simpler life than yours.

Not so fast. Picture a world-class juggler with half-a-dozen balls in motion. How many balls do they have in their hands at once? None, one, or two. Never more than two. The remainder are in the air.

By analogy, work on just one or two things at a time. The remainder can be scheduled for some time in the future. In this way, it's very possible to finish what's currently on your list.

Otherwise, all of the competing priorities of a long list clamour for your attention. They clutter one another, making it impossible to focus. When you're pulled in many directions, you'll end up immobilized and demotivated.

At least that's what has happened to me. My implicit solution was to procrastinate until panic seized me, and then enjoy its temporary clarity of focus.

So, here's a recipe for Todo Zero that will take an hour or two to start with:

So, that leaves you with quick tasks that take less than 10 minutes, along with the one or two most urgent/important jobs for today.

Marvel at your wonderfully shortened todo list. Look away, take a deep breath. Do not look at your email. Make a coffee. Feel a little calmer than you did, and enjoy it.

Now, let's do the same for your email.

Stand up, and take a deep breath. Walk around for a few minutes, and make a cup of coffee. This is going really well.

Take a break.

At this point, you're close to the point where you have a clean slate, and just your important tasks. You probably have some meetings and stuff. Have lunch. Refresh.

With any luck, you made progress on those one or two most important tasks.

Armed with this approach, you can triage your own life. You can choose to focus on the most urgent or important things first, and ignore the rest. They'll shamble back when their time has come, and then you can dispatch them in turn.

P.S. There are a few tools that will help:

P.P.S. One final note. I can't juggle two balls, let alone six. So take that into account, seasoned with a pinch of salt, in reading this.

P.P.P.S. Of course, there is nothing that's original here. It's a death-metal-mashup of Inbox Zero and GTD. It's not always feasible to work like this. If you don't procrastinate, you probably don't need it. Etc.





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