The two things that keep you from doing what you want to do—and how an organized, prioritized to do list will focus you on success!
Decades of research on goal pursuit shows that when it comes to execution, there are two major pitfalls that keep us from doing the things we intend to do.
The first is not being specific.
We don’t get specific enough about what exactly needs to happen—the specific actions we need to take to reach our goals. To do lists can help with this part of the problem, so long as they are made up of specific actions, rather than vague goals.
The second is not having focus.
The first step to improving focus is to prioritize your to do list and start with the most important task first. From your task list, ask: If I could only do three of those tasks, which are the ones that would help me accomplish my daily goal? Then prioritize those three as A1, A2, and A3. These three tasks are your high-value, high-priority tasks which deserve your time, effort, and focus. Most importantly, do not multitask! Work only on the most important (A1) task until completed.
Being specific and focused are surprising powerful ways to be more productive.
