The Do-Not-Do List
The To-Do List
Everyone swears by the to-do list. They have one in their bullet journal, one in the planner, a copy on Evernote, lists on the Todoist App and lots of other places. I am an advocate and huge supporter of the to-do list too. Every night, before I go to bed, I tick off tasks from my to-do list and create a to-do list for the next day. However, recently, I realised that my productivity was falling. Items were only getting postponed to the following days, but they were never getting done. As tasks kept forwarding themselves week after week, I realised I had to change my ways.
Time Slots
Creating a to-do list is easy. What was important was incorporating the to-do list into my day and making sure that I have a specific time-slot allocated to each of my tasks. This was easier said than done. Being a mother of two young boys, I do not have complete freedom to plan my day. Most of my well-laid plans go astray as they give way to PTA meetings, grocery shopping, doctor visits and updating Aadhar cards. Still, some tasks started getting done once I started allocating a fixed time-slot for them.
The Do-Not-Do List
This was when I came across the Do-Not-Do (DND) List. The DND list states all that you would avoid that day. Initially, my list was something like this:
· No Netflix or Prime
· No Social Media
· No chatting for hours on phone, etc.
Of course, this did not work for more than a day or two. The DND list changed my life but only after I started using it sensibly. All of us know what we are supposed to do, but we are lured by it and we end up doing it anyway. This is where the Do-Not-Do list becomes immensely helpful. However, just like a weight-loss diet, a blanket ban on stuff will not work.
The biggest nuisance of my existence is social media. It is a time-sucking devil that does add some value to my life. Apart from many writing opportunities, social media is also a platform where I interact with readers and connect with other fellow writers, but it was high-time I set some boundaries about how I used social media.
This was where the DND list helped me a lot. One of my goals this year was to widen my social media reach to include platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. With Facebook and Twitter already sucking away most of my day, I realised I needed to be clever if I was actually going to make this work. Asking me not to check social media is pointless. I am addicted to it. I am an extrovert and love connecting with hundreds of people at a time. The blanket ban was not going to help. So, I did the next best thing. I made regulations on how I was going to use social media.
Time Slots Again
I rewrote my DND list with time blocks. Now, this is how my do-not-do list looks like:
· No screen during breakfast
· No social media after 9 PM
· No social media on Sundays
· All promotional posts only through scheduling apps
· No consumption before creation
(Btw, Google Maps, Whatsapp and FB Messenger are not a part of the above social media list. As a mother of two school-going boys, I keep myself abreast of homework and projects through Whatsapp. Messenger is how my publisher usually gets in touch with me. Though I’m connected on both these platforms, I am not addicted to them as I hate messaging. I’m a ‘call up and speak’ person.)
I have not been completely successful in following the above list. For instance, my Saturday, a few weeks back was hectic, as I spent all morning as the chief guest at a school celebration, had a quick lunch at 3 PM and then rushed to a bookstore, that is two hours away, for a book signing session. I had no time to get on social media and share about my day though I was longing to. So, on Sunday, I had logged onto social media to make the post.
I broke my DND rule. I chided myself. It wasn’t as if my post was going to save the day or that it was time-centric; I could have easily done this on Monday. This is exactly what these shiny social platforms trick us into believing — I am important; what I say is important and everyone wants to know about me — You can see how lame that sounds! So, when you make a DND list, stick to it.
Except for a few initial hiccups, I am slowly adapting myself to my DND list. I have stopped watching Netflix during breakfast. I have stopped being online after 9 PM. I have signed up for Buffer and Tailwind to schedule most of my content to social media.
There is only one place where I am still flailing on most days: The ‘no consumption before creation’ rule. Every morning I tell myself that I will not get on social media till I have written or researched for at least two hours. Then, something comes up and I am lost. Usually the something is logging on to the Internet for research and getting side-tracked by Facebook.
Still, I’m on a war with resistance and I’ll fight again tomorrow.
Who said this was going to be easy? But, I’m sure it will be worth it!
What about you? How do you manage to get things ticked off your To-Do list?
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