If you’re only using a to-do list, there’s a good chance you’re making yourself less productive. It’s something that took me quite a while to understand. There’s a simple but breathtakingly powerful fix to your to-do list — keep a done list.
By changing from listing the things that you are going to do, to writing down the things that you have done, my life has become a lot easier. Done lists give perspective to your to-dos and it motivates you to keep making progress, every day, until it’s Done.
How come to-do lists don’t work?
The checklist format doesn’t work for projects and tasks that are open-ended. Plus, items and tasks can evolve or become obsolete by the time you hit lunchtime, and by the end of the day, your to-do list can look a totally foreign being compared to what actually needs to get done.
It’s too easy to get that smaller thing crossed off first. There are no commitment devices to firmly turn your resolve to the most important tasks rather than the simple ones. When smaller things are too easy to get done, smaller, less important things are all you will get done.
To-do lists also lead you away from motivation and control. The very pressure that can have such a positive impact in keeping you from the deep-end of lost time can just as much feel like nagging, leading to feelings of guilt and frustration rather than motivation and inspiration. Sometimes it feels like the list controls you, you don’t control the list.
Get to done with a done list
The answer isn’t to get rid of to-do lists altogether but to remember that a to-do list is the beginning of the journey through Doing to Done. How do you get to done? Use a Done List, the yang to the yin of the to-do list.
The to-do list can motivate you by directing you to just put one foot in front of the other. The done list motivates you to keep walking in the first place because you’ve got all that “how-feet-work” business down. The done list’s surprisingly strong motivational powers come from the simple fact that you got stuff done. These aren’t intangible goals or wishful thinking but real results, results that bring all sorts of positive feelings and energy because you’ve achieved something and you want to keep going.
The done list also gives you the gift of perspective, something that is much more difficult and unrealistic at the to-do stage. It allows you to review your day, gives you a chance to celebrate your accomplishments, and helps you plan more effectively.
Balancing act
While the to-do list is about the plan and the possibility of any day, the done list is about execution and evaluation. Together, they provide a balanced meal of productivity planning. With a routine of to-do and done, you’ll also be able to notice patterns and puzzle out what sorts of tasks aren’t making the journey from to-do to done and why. The done list’s balancing effect helps connect the dots between your expectations and your results, and to make better to-do lists to start your next day.
5 Great Done List Tools
The beauty of the done list is that there’s more freedom and individuality around the process. It’s not beholden to check-boxes or simple itemization. It comes down to whatever works best for you. Here are four methods for you to try out.
iDoneThis: iDoneThis is the done list that comes to you. It’s a simple tool that emails you every day prompting you to reply with what you’ve got done. It collects your dones into a handy calendar (which you can sync with Google Calendar or iCal). The e-mail notification method nudges you to keep up your done list so you don’t forget and the easy calendar-viewing option gives you a great way to review your dones!
Use what you have: Fold in your new done list along with your to-do list method if it is flexible enough. That way it’ll be easy to compare your to-do list items with your dones. At the end of the day, flip over your to-do list and write down everything you got done.
Take notes: Jot down your daily dones in a note-taking program like OneNote or Evernote. As soon as you start jotting things down, they automatically turn to into a done list. You can get over it later and see the tasks you were able to complete.
Journals: Incorporating your dones into a journaling gives you room for reflection around your days and accomplishments. Even if you’re keeping a relatively short-format practice, journaling programs are a handy way to keep track of your dones. They provide a calendar-based system, syncing options, and enough of a blank slate so that you’re not bound up in the list format of many task management applications. Give RedNotebook or the Day One app a whirl and see how this works for you.
Conclusion
Have you ever tried swapping over to a “done” list? I hope there are some interesting ideas in here to give your productivity a natural boost. Let me know your thoughts on what helps you get the most work done.
(Photo credit: To do list via Shutterstock)
I’ve had some success with Pomodoro’s, which are basically 25 minutes of uninterrupted work timed with a timer. If you get interrupted the Pomodoro needs to be restarted.
You write down what you are going to do and then do it. At the end of the day there’s this temptation to do “just one more pomodoro” to make your list of done Pomodoros longer.
If your to-do list doesn’t work you’re doing it wrong.
I use a to-do short list. 3-5 high priority tasks and I start with the most uncomfortable item on the list. It works.
Yesterday started by contacting one of the Dragons from Dragons Den. It was extremely uncomfortable, but the day was much easier after that.
Hey Shaun, great to see you here and thanks for the awesome comment. That is very interesting to hear and I agree, I think there are still plenty of great use cases of to do lists.
With this post, I found that “done” lists is just not a very conventional thing that people have done before. So if you ever try out a done list next to a to do list, I think it might be interesting to compare! :)
Oh yes! I totally get that. That was not a criticism of you.
From reading the post I understood that you knew the difference. All I wanted to say was that there is a way that makes it work but it doesn’t work when there are 10 million items.In fact I have a “million things to do list” in my evernote. That is what most peoples to do lists are and they don’t work. In reality, that is just a place holder for all of the crap in my life.
I’ll definitely try this out
awesome, be sure to give it a go, would love to hear how it worked out for you! :)
I enjoyed this post because I really want Todo lists to work for me but frequently find for various reasons, they just don’t.
Im interested giving this approach a go, only problem is that I generally see the point of a Todo list to remind me of the things that need to be done. Im not sure how a ‘done list’ can really fill that role..?
So how should I remember everything I have to do? In my head? Using GTD let me focus on one just one thing at once, by writting down the other stuff I have to do. Should I throw that away?
Well, I’m using “iDoneThis”, but to motivate me on personal projects (I feel bad every time I can’t answer their email “what have u done today?”)
Totally agree. I’ve been using iDoneThis for the past month and love it. Before that I used to-do lists and hated them. I think it’s more of a personal thing than a this-will-make-EVERYONE-more-productive thing, but the done lists definitely work better for me.
with Trello, you can list your todo’s on one list and move them to a “done” list. I’ve been trying this approach at work the past couple days and am finding myself really happy with it.
I start out each day with a to-do list, which by virtue of crossing out completed items, implicitly ends up as a done list. I also add, and then immediately cross out, tasks that I have done that were not already on my to-do list. This aids motivation; it is much more empowering to see a list of 20 items, with 12 crossed out, than it is to see an isolated list of 8 items that still need to be completed. The context shows progress and provides encouragement.
I totally agree that to-do lists do not work well for open-ended tasks, and that if not managed well, a to-do list can quickly become obsolete as our focus shifts throughout the day. I tend to manage this by moving uncommitted and long term tasks to a separate to-do list that I revise periodically.
Thanks for the thoughtful post.
I am so glad this internet thing works and your article really helped me. Might take you up on that home advice you
I was actually looking for this resource a few weeks back. Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.This will absolutely going to help me in my projects .