Easy, Hard, Easy, Hard: My Effective Strategy for Getting Things Done
Easy, Hard, Easy, Hard: My Effective Strategy for Getting Things Done
Monday motivation of some sorts
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels
Heyyyyyy,
Can you ever tell how excited I usually am to be sending you these letters? Even doubly excited today because it's our first newsletter this July. I'm itching to know what your goals are for the month.
Today, I'm going to share one of my tried and trusted strategies for getting things done. I'll be honest and say I don't use it all the time because I allow myself laze off several times. BUT, when I want to cross off items on my to-do list and actually get things done, this is the strategy I use. Let me tell you about it.
Easy, Hard, Easy, Hard.
Easy
So I like to start off with the easy stuff – quick but important and usually recurring daily tasks. (Reading, chores, etc). Because they are quick to do and not complex, I complete these in no time and can easily strike 2-3 items off my list. This gets me feeling like I'm on a productivity streak and sets the pace for getting into harder tasks.
Hard
Here, I tackle hard tasks that yield huge results. And this is where I'd usually put most of my work – writing, editing, etc. They might not be 'hard to do' but can be time-consuming and once completed, will have led to me accomplishing substantial results for the day. Doing these tasks help to maintain momentum (I'm still crossing off items, feeling and being productive, working towards ticking all my task boxes for the day).
Easy
I usually leave small tasks to use as breaks for the Hard ones. So, after writing a piece or editing a couple of articles, I'd do something quick like run an errand, schedule a newsletter, or read my mails. Again, quick stuff to boost my morale.
Hard
The hard tasks I leave for last are those with huge rewards. With these, there's always an accompanying self-made promise. It's either a movie (it's often a movie), some sweet treats, letting myself play games or scroll through recipes and book recommendations on Instagram – for a solid hour or two. And because these rewards make me really psyched up, I challenge myself to do the tasks here. Hard tasks under this arm often include making calls (believe it or not), doing a complex edit, or a task I find unexciting.
When I arrange my tasks in this way and get them done accordingly, I find myself achieving a lot more than on days when I just wing it.
So if you're trying to do more this week, could you try the EHEH strategy? It works. Just don't forget to reward yourself in the end.
Let me know – What's your strategy for getting things done?