Make a chaos list. It sounds too simple to be considered a valid suggestion. Yet in today's technology driven world (don't worry, technology is my friend), sometimes we overlook the obvious. Take out a scrap piece of paper and write a list... one by one.
In a nutshell: You're on a time crunch, you have dozens of things to do. Some tasks may be trivial or ordinary functions, others essential... and they are all racing through your noggin. The simple function of a Chaos list is to WRITE IT ALL DOWN on a small piece of paper. Your tasks are much safer written down on a list than they are floating around in your head. If you find yourself in a stressful time crunch, create a Chaos List and cross the items off as you complete them.
Maybe you can relate: You HAVE to leave for an important meeting no later than 9am. At 8am you're in the shower and the dozens of important tasks are running through your head. Chaos. I hate that feeling! It might go a little something like this:
- "OK, I have to leave in an hour. I need to remember to write down the address of the office building we're meeting at. I should probably go over the agenda one more time to make sure I have everything I need. Oh, and I can't forget to look up the number for the dentist so I can schedule an appointment while I am on the road. Is my cell phone charged? Shoot, if I don't clean the kitchen my roommate will kill me! I might want to eat something so my stomach isn't growling during the meeting. Breath mints... I need to pick some of those up."
OK, I admit... If we were REALLY on top of our game we would have covered all this the night before. On a good day, maybe you would have. Fact of the matter is you're in the situation now and you have to make it work. MAKE A CHAOS LIST.
Grab a pen and a piece of paper small enough to carry with you. As something comes to your head, write it down. Don't worry about prioritizing, just jot down what needs to be done. You will find it comforting once something is on the list because you don't have to remember it anymore! If you are in a time crunch don't worry about setting too much time aside to start your list... 30 seconds will get you started.
Now you have a list, giddy up and get moving! Start crossing items off as they are completed. Be almost mechanical about it, its only for an hour! Keep an eye on the clock and be mindful of how much time you have to spend on each item. If you have a open item on your list, say 'clean the kitchen,' you might want to allocate yourself a set amount of time to spend on that specific task. "I will clean the kitchen for 7 minutes." When the 7 minutes are up, cross it off and move on! In the midst of completing your tasks, new tasks will undoubtedly come to mind. Simply write them down and proceed. Try not to stop in the middle of something.
The time crunch often helps us realize that there are some tasks we can responsibly put off until later. It can be helpful to keep these tasks on your list so you can get them off your mind. Circle them or somehow indicate that you need to return to those items at another time.
The simple act of creating a list can bring much needed structure to an otherwise stressful morning. Besides, as cool as some of the high-tech scheduling devices are, nothing really beats the satisfaction of physically crossing a task off your list!
Logistics: I prefer a mechanical pencil and standard index card sized piece of paper or a sticky-note for my lists. They are small enough to fit in your wallet or pocket. Frankly anything will work, even the back of an old envelope works well! Moleskin has some handy pocket sized notebooks (see links below) I recommend if you want to be a bit more flashy about it.
There certainly is a lot more to say about the age-old art of "list making," I'm sure another day we will. So when you find yourself in a time crunch with several ideas floating aimlessly through your head remember the Chaos List!
-BCM
More Info for the over-achievers:
Here are some unnecessary links on what other people are saying about list-making. I tried to be as practical as possible in simply reminding you the power of the chaos list. You're competent, you know how to make a list... just do it! These go into much more detail. While helpful, you'll notice they address different types of lists and situations:
Computer generated template for to-do lists.
As discussed in blog. Certainly not necessary for the Chaos List, but handy if you become a preferred list maker!
No comments:
Post a Comment