This is my time tested solution to getting things done.

Many years ago, I let myself relax a bit about all the things on my personal To Do Lists. I was changing from Android to Apple but I was unable to find a certain organisational app for my tasks list. So I decided to create something super easy that was not dependant upon any operating system as I didn’t want to have to adjust everything again in case I got a bad apple.

So two things happened.

First, I stopped my old ways of prioritising. Previously, my To Do Lists were about doing things which responded the needs of others. Is it more urgent and/or important to do task ‘x’ for person A or to do task ‘z’ for person B? Questioning how something benefits others has stopped being a priority.

My happiness is related to that of others, but even greater fulfilment is felt when I use time and energy to do my own tasks first and then do things which help others after.

So I now ask myself, what can I do today that will make me feel good when it is done? How something gets done is not the variable either, rather I focus on my specific feelings related to the accomplishment of each task.

Secondly, I stopped listing absolutely everything on Today’s To Do List. Brain dumps are great because they stop the endless spinning of thoughts in my head but under no circumstances should all those thoughts morf into an overwhelming task list.

Too often, the old lists had so many things on them that nothing would get done. It was just too much to choose from and nothing ever felt like the right place to start either.

Instead, I now take each brain dumped item and either put it on my personal calendar with it’s valid due date or stick it on a wish list until I actually want it bad enough to do something about it.

When I choose only the things which make me feel good to have them done and when I choose to use my currently available time and energy for only 3 things… my list becomes a highly doable collection of my Best Efforts Today.

BETs have been extremely easy to incorporate into my daily routine. If something does not make that top 3 list then it doesn’t get my time or energy.

In the same time it used to take to prioritise and colour code and consider all the people involved in everything on my old To Do Lists… I have already completed the BETs I placed on myself this morning and that makes me feel very happy indeed!