The more I simplify my to-do list approach, the better it works. The better I work.
One of the bigger changes I’ve made is to write down my most important tasks of the day the night before.
This removes the frustration of waking up and then instantly trying to answer “What do I need to do today?” in your head. But even when you already have the answer, you won’t always like it.
Some days are just loaded with tasks you don’t like doing.
Yesterday, I found a great way to tackle even those with joy. Here’s the first thing I see when I open my browser in the morning:
It’s the Momentum extension for Chrome and each day it greets me with a beautiful picture and a prompt what my main focus for the day is.
This is where Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic comes in:
“Today, don’t try to impose your will on the world. Instead see yourself as fortunate to receive and respond to the will in the world.
Stuck in traffic? A few wonderful minutes to relax and sit. Your car broke down after idling for so long? Ah, what a nice nudge to take a long walk the rest of the way. A swerving car driven by a distracted, cell-phone-wielding idiot nearly hit you as you were walking and soaked you head to toe with muddy water? What a reminder about how precarious our existence is and how silly it is to get upset about something as trivial as being late or having trouble with your commute!
Kidding aside, it might not seem like it makes a big difference to see life as something you have to do versus get to, but there is. A huge, magnificent difference.”
Instead of just putting “study for school” into my Momentum prompt, now I put in “I GET to study for school.”
Notice how different these sound:
- I have to write a paper for school.
- I get to write a paper for school.
- I have to organize a workshop for our guests.
- I get to organize a workshop for our guests.
- I have to repair a Volkswagen Beetle today.
- I get to repair a Volkswagen Beetle today.
If you have the time and possibility to read blogs like this one, you can consider yourself lucky. Whatever’s on your to-do list, someone else wishes it was theirs.
You don’t have to do any of it.
You get to.
