But when you're writing the weekly list, you're in a different frame of mind. With six days to finish everything (assuming you take a day off), it is easier to put in those important, but non-urgent tasks. Earlier I wrote about how I accidentally <a href="https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2008/04/02/20-tips-to-survive-when-you%e2%80%99ve-overloaded-your-schedule/">overloaded my schedule </a>last week. Using the Weekly/Daily system kept me from burning out or feeling stressed, even though I was dealing with 2-3x the workload. By automatically dividing up my work into a weekly total and daily increments, I could focus on the next bite, instead of the entire elephant.

The heading for this section might seem pretty self-explanatory. Write out your weekly list and your daily lists, finish them, repeat. But after using this approach for a few months, there are a few nuances you might want to consider. The point of the weekly list is to serve as the starting point for writing daily lists. After you've broken off the chunk you want to handle tomorrow, the other tasks in the week shouldn't be on your mind. You can pretend they don't exist, as if the only tasks in the world were the ones tomorrow.

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." If you've ever ran more than a few miles, you probably understand why you need to pace yourself. Runners that sprint at the start of a race will be exhausted far before they cross the finish line.

How to Finish Your Work, One Bite at a Time | Scott H Young

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