Taking care of the kids, pets, running from the gym to paying bills, and going to work all take precedence over going to the beach, reading at your favorite cafe, having a beer or meeting friends for lunch like you used to when you were ummm younger. It can be hard to get free time to just to think much less do something you enjoy.
That said, there are things that MUST be done, and things that can wait. Things you'd like to do, and things you'd rather not.
Recently, I read a great article in the Harvard Business Review Blog by Bob Frisch about making better decisions by prioritizing. He has surprising advice.
First, he describes how a washing machine company decided that the water needed to be warm when hitting the detergent. Instead of deciding upon an exact temperature, the company decided that warm was hotter than cold and colder than hot. This is called, "fuzzy logic" in math. In other words, it can be helpful to make things foggier before you make them clearer. This is kind of like when you're at the Ophthalmologist and she asks: Better this way? Better that way?
How does this apply to prioritizing? Frisch suggests making to-do lists by dividing your activities into "Should Do" "Must Do" and "Nice To Do" columns. This helps clarify and distinguish what you need, want, and must do. Then, be sure to check them off! Even when you're checking off the nice to do items, your mind will feel clearer.
Making lists leads to better health, according to experts, including author, Sonya Lyubomirsky, PhD, a psychology professor at UC Riverside who studies happiness (and wrote the book, The How of Happiness). It helps break down what feels huge and overwhelming into manageable pieces, Lyubomirsky says.
When something is incomplete, your mind holds onto it, trying to make sense of it. Offering it up to the page, and then checking it off, releases it.
It also increases your sense of accomplishment. Recent studies have found that accomplishing a small goal first leads to greater success later. It's called "a small win" by Charles Duhigg, and is described in his new book, The Power of Habit (2012).
You might also find that what you feel is overwhelming in the moment doesn't have to be done today.
The upshot? Keeping a delineated to-do list leads to greater clarity and success.
This is empowering news to those of us whose minds are filled to the brink!
(And, now, I'm going to go check off "write blog article and tweet it" in my Nice To-Do column! ;) ).
Additional resources for those who want additional reading:
1. " To Get Better Decisions, Get a Little Fuzzy," by Bob Frisch: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/to_get_better_decisions_get_a.html
2. The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, by Sonya Lyubomirsky, Ph.D. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+how+of+happiness
3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Love and Work, Charles Duhigg, http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/1400069289
4. And, for fun: To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us, by Sasha Cagen: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416534695/ref=rdr_ext_tmb
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