Pick a single thing to focus on - Deepstash
7 Books on Habits

Learn more about timemanagement with this collection

How to break bad habits

How habits are formed

The importance of consistency

7 Books on Habits

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Pick a single thing to focus on

When you're really struggling to get anything done, you should try this method, even if temporarily.

When you look at your task list, pick a single thing to focus on that day. It could be one big task you really want to get done, or it could be a theme that relates to several of your tasks. Choosing a single task or idea to focus on can be a good way to remind yourself to stay on track whenever you find yourself getting distracted.

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4.24K reads

MORE IDEAS ON THIS

Use a priority matrix

Use a priority matrix

Take all of your tasks and assign each a priority.

This tool is particularly helpful for those times when you're drowning under a million things to do, as it helps you visualize what's really important and what can wait.

Whatever you do, avoid the busy work and time wasters

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5.52K reads

Find your 20% task

The Pareto principle states: You tend to get 80% of your results from 20% of your work.

What's really tricky is working out what that 20% is that brings in the results. But once you do, you can apply the ultimate ruthless prioritization to your workday: Make that 20% work y...

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5.73K reads

Consolidate All of Your Tasks Into a Single Source

Consolidate All of Your Tasks Into a Single Source

To-dos arrive from a variety of sources. Your boss sends you an email, you get a Slack message from IT, a bill arrives in the mail, or a coworker asks for a favor in the hallway.

In order to prioritize your task list efficiently, you need a master to-do list that contains all ...

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6.21K reads

 Analyze Your Task List

Analyze Your Task List

Go through your list, review each task, and decide what you want to do with it. You have 4 options:

  • Do: complete the task now
  • Defer: complete it later
  • Delegate: assign it to someone else
  • Delete: remove it from your list

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Ruthless prioritization

It means deciding not to do things you'd really like to do. It also means deciding what's the most important task even when everything on your list feels crucial.

But if you can prioritize until you have only one thing to focus on right now, you can't help but get to work.

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Focus on your Most Important Tasks (MITs)

Focus on your Most Important Tasks (MITs)

Choose a few (usually 3) tasks to get done each day; those become your MITs.

When using MITs, your to-do list would have 1-3 of these, and anything else listed would become bonus, "nice to do if you have the time" tasks. You only work on bonus tasks if all your MITs are don...

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Use relative prioritization

Use relative prioritization

Assign each task a priority number, to weigh each task against the others in order to determine where to start first.

In these cases, it's also helpful to break your tasks down into smaller tasks to better assign relative prioritizations.

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5.62K reads

CURATED FROM

CURATED BY

theodorexh

There is a difference between patience & procrastination.

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Keep a running list but do just “one thing” on it

When we have more than seven things to choose from, our brains get overwhelmed. The core concept of the "do one thing" method is to keep your to-do list, but use it only as a reference. When you want to tackle a task, write it down on a Post-It and stick it up while hiding your f...

Too Much on your To-Do List

You might be falling into the trap of making yourself think you’re making progress when you might not really be.

Consider whether something you’ve put on your list is a small task that can be done almost as quickly as you write it down. If a task is only going to take you 5 to 10 mi...

What To Focus On

To focus you need to eliminate the distractions, commit to one thing and become great at it.

To know what to focus on, try different things for some time until something comes easily and you can master the core fundamentals of the task. This way you can get a sense of what fits you a...

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