Runners know the importance of pacing themselves. If you sprint at the beginning of a race you will be exhausted long before you cross the finish line. The same principle holds true when trying to get work done.
One method for pacing yourself when it comes to work is to maintain weekly and daily to-do lists. It’s simple. At the end of the week, write a list stating everything you want to accomplish next week. Then, at the end of the day, write a list containing the parts of the weekly list you want to finish tomorrow.
This simple procedure will help you to manage your energy. A weekly/daily system separates your work into manageable chunks. Rather than trying to do everything at once, you focus on completing your daily list. If you finish earlier than you expected, you can relax and enjoy your time guilt-free.
It also hinders procrastination. Many of us start procrastinating when we see a mountain of overwhelming work in front of us. Dividing your tasks into daily lists makes them bite-sized and manageable.
You may also choose to do a monthly review in which you select a few larger projects that you would like to finish that month. You can then keep these in mind when writing the weekly lists.
Life doesn’t have to be complicated and neither does your to-do list.
