The one task I must do tomorrow
When I was 24, I worked 12-hour days and still couldn't catch up. One night I got stuck on a problem, so I gave up, ordered takeaway, and went to bed. I woke at 2 am with the answer and wrote it down. Looking back, I'd done three things without realising it: I took some time out, focused on one thing, and saw it through to the end.
That's where my favourite technique comes from. It's simple, and I come back to it whenever I'm stuck.
List your tasks somewhere that lasts. Use a notebook, sticky notes, or a whiteboard. Don't write it in sand on the beach.
Write a short note for each one saying what needs doing. If a task turns out to be four or five things, break it down.
Stop at 15 to 20. Any more and it feels like a forest in front of you.
Step back and look at the whole list. Group things by theme, and spot anything that must happen in a certain order.
Ask yourself one question. What's the one thing I must do tomorrow? Commit to it.
Do it. Focus on it, finish it, tick it off. If that gives you a boost, carry on with something else.
Repeat the next day.
The must-do task often isn't the easy one, or the one you fancy doing. That's sort of the point. Do it two days in a row and, well done, you're being productive.
Once you're up and running, you can stretch it to three priorities a day, or even five. But if you're stuck or putting things off, go back to just one.
The one thing to take from this: tonight, before you finish, write down the one thing you must do tomorrow. Then do that first.
Good luck, and let me know what your one thing is.
