For 2020, DITCH THAT LIST

Why it’s time to ditch the to-do list:

#1 They don’t account for how long something will take.

Let’s be real. You’re really bad at gauging the time required to complete the task. As a result, we all put more things on our list than we are capable of doing.

#2 They Lack Clarity

There is no difference between urgent and important. There are no time boundaries. And we tend to “do” the urgent tasks, and put off the most important ones.

#3 They Lack Schedule

Unless you’re a badass, your to-do list is probably just a set of randomly gathered tasks in no order.

When you start your workday, you usually pick the ones based on your current mood.

And when there is no schedule, you’re more than likely to start switching between a few…

This also leads to procrastination…

Overall, the To Do List gives you the illusion of progress and accomplishment.

But I believe that:

To Do Lists make you prioritize the wrong stuff and make you less organized in the long run.

But planning and productivity are such an important ingredient in success…

What to do?

Schedule Everything Rigorously.

Be a professional. Write down your tasks, and dedicate time to them.

And stick to that schedule.

Give Yourself Tight Deadlines

The longer your deadline, the more likely you are to waste time and procrastinate.

Prioritize

Schedule your most important tasks in the morning.

Start your day by doing your most important thing, and use that momentum to carry you through the rest of your day.

Be Real With Yourself

Don’t overwork yourself. Don’t schedule more tasks than you can handle.

Hard work has nothing to do with productivity.

Your journey to success begins with you prioritizing, and executing what’s important for you.

The worst thing you can do is burn yourself out.

Your health and energy will take you everywhere you want to go

Where are you, exactly?

We all spend way too much time worrying about the future and what we are supposed to be doing.

We are stuck in a trap that lets us believe we should be exactly where we think we should be…

Where we have everything figured out, and we’re on the top of the mountain, basking in all the glory of life and our success.

What we forget is:

We are exactly where we need to be in life.

If something hasn’t happened for you, it just means you’re not ready.

It means you’re getting the experience you need so you can kill it when you are ready.

That is, if you ever are ready.

And you will be ready IF you do this one thing:

Learning.

It’s a matter of constantly learning what part of you is missing that will allow you to achieve everything you want in life.

The major lesson is to be patient.

You have your whole life to become and create.

AS long as you’re aware, moving forward, and learning…

You’re on exactly the right path.

It’s absolutely okay to not have “life figured out.”

It’s easy to see others success, compare yourself, and feel bad.

But instead, you should realize that as long as you’re taking action, learning, and moving forward:

You’re exactly where you need to be in life.

The list of “patient people at the top of their game” (and some great failures):

At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.

At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.

At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.

At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.

At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.

At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.

Christian Dior founded Dior at the age of 41.

Jerry Baldwin founded Starbucks at 42.

Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career and landed his first movie role at age 42.

Steve Carrel got his big break at age 43.

Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 43.

Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first major movie role until he was 46.

Charles Darwin published The Origin Of Species at age 50.

Morgan Freeman landed his first major movie role at age 52.

Kathryn Bigelow won the Academy Award for Best Director when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57.

Winston Churchill struggled in politics and was defeated in every election until the age of 62 when he became Prime Minister of the UK.

Colonel Sanders founded KFC at age 65.

This game of life is a marathon, not a sprint.

You CAN do the long-distance run.