Building a list to get things done
Using a To-Do List to Improve Self Motivation
So I was told by several people and blogs that writing stuff down in a list will help self-motivation of completion.
For this activity I used trello.
My goal: get done all my homework for the day and find one job to apply for.
Here’s how I did it:
I start putting tasks down in a list and broke them down into doable chunks like “Look at glassdoor for Jobs” “Look at Angel List for Jobs”
(beginning stages of building)
This checklist was going to guide my post-class day if something wasn’t on this checklist I wasn’t doing it. (excluding eating and showering of course!)
How it went:
Pros:
- I did feel more organized and I didn’t need to rack my brain for “What’s the next thing I need to do”
- I did hit my goal and got all my tasks done.
- I did feel more motivated to check something off a list. There’s a happiness to just completing task.
- I didn’t get sidetracked as much or switch between projects as much. I usually have two projects i’m working on at once and switch to between them if a I run to problem on one. A checklist did make me more focused on one thing.
- I actually knew how much I needed to get done. I usually just work until I feel like I did a good amount of work. With this I work until I get deadlines done.
Cons
- Writing task done in detail takes time. I stopped after about 30 minutes but writing tasks for the day in of itself is a task.
- I was still avoiding things on the list that I didn’t want to do and saving them until later. I usually tend to at least start on my biggest project first and feel like I got work done but with a checklist I feel just as happy checking a small thing off as a big thing.
- I didn’t have motivation everyday to even make a list.
Would I keep doing this?
Probably not. Though a checklist is helpful I do have the initial energy at the start of the day to even make a checklist most of time. A checklist is helpful if you’re the type of person who can get up early enough to make it but It’s not practical for me.
