Checked Off: Five Reasons a "Got Done" List is Important
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"Happiness does not come from doing easy work, but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best." - Theodore Isaac Rubin, American psychiatrist and author. We all love to feel like winners, which may be why the new app "I Done This" has become popular recently. Rather than acting just as an electronic to-do list, it also emphasizes what you've already accomplished. This is especially effective on the team level, where it demonstrates the truth of the "many hands make light work" axiom and keeps teammates from accidentally doubling up on the same task. Many workers tend to overestimate what they can do during a work-day, so they make much longer daily to-do lists than they should. This can damage your productivity in an unexpected way: If you look only at your long to-to list, it can make you feel stressed or like a failure when you don't check it all off. It makes no sense to have 17 hours of work lined up for a day with 4 hours of controllable time. That's why it's crucial to have a "Got Done" list as well. Now, a Got Done list isn't as simple as the items you've checked or crossed off your list. Not only do many of the popular apps disappear those from your list once you've checked them off them, forcing you to look for your activity log, what you've checked off doesn't necessarily include all you've actually done. What about the unexpected stuff that pops up and doesn't make the list, or the tasks you've helped your co-workers finish? You get a richer experience if you can reflect on all you've done, especially at the end of the day, the week, or even a particular project, than if you just angst over what's left to do. Even better, your actual productivity level becomes more obvious to you. Here are a few good reasons you should keep a separate Got Done list:
Get It Down A Got Done list needn't take long, and you don't have to use an app to track your Got Done's. I used the "Completed" view on my Outlook tasks to generate it. "Retro tech" like pen and paper will also suffice if that's your thing. A journal or notebook will allow you to go back and review all the things you've accomplished in the past, even years ago. This may be exactly the shot-in-the-arm you need on a day when you're feeling unproductive! Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE is an award-winning keynote speaker, bestselling author, and noted authority on productivity and performance. Funny, engaging, and full of real life strategies that work, Laura will change mindsets and attitudes so your people can maximize productivity, strengthen performance, and get the job done right. Her presentations at corporate events, sales kick-off meetings, and association conferences help audiences improve output, increase speed in execution, and save time in the office. Stack has authored seven books, including her newest work, Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time (Jan. 2016). |
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