Assessment
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Quick Win
Putting your tasks and goals on paper helps you align your daily actions with results. And it feels so good to cross them off your list.
Try This Today
- Create two lists: “Get It Done Soon” and “Get It Done Later.”
- For “Get It Done Soon,” jot down things you’d like to do in the next few weeks and add a deadline (e.g., take a yoga class on Wednesday, clean out the garage this weekend, get a haircut next week).
- For “Get It Done Later,” write down goals you want to work toward that may take more planning (e.g., learn a language, take a trip to Hawaii, volunteer for a new organization).
Why
Writing down priorities can maximize productivity. According to a 2022 review published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, tools like to-do lists that help us remember our intentions can help free our brains from some distractions. Setting priorities also might help because, as a 2022 commentary in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education notes, people often perceive requests that crop up suddenly as urgent and may address them at the expense of more important goals.
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