Getting things done. My top 3 Jedi tricks to be more productive and feel on top of things

Are you keeping endless to-do lists, always looking for things to check off of your list, and feeling like you never get to the finish line? Then this post is for you.

For most of my adult life I’ve been keeping endless lists and systems. I believe I’ve studied all the tools and hacks to getting things done, and I would like to share my favorite Jedi tricks with you. They are much simpler than you might expect.

You crave getting to the end while constantly moving the finish line!

What is your relationship with your to-do lists? Are you always in the future, thinking of the next thing to tick off, trying to get to the end of the list while constantly adding new items? Do you see the paradox here? You crave getting to the end while constantly moving the finish line...

Do you want to change this and get out of the constant pressure of things not yet done? Then read on, I’m going to share my favourite Jedi tricks to being productive and more importantly to feeling good in the process.

Jedi trick 1: realise that it’s a marathon not a sprint

The most important Jedi trick is a shift of the mind: realise that life and work keep coming at you, so there’s no point sprinting towards a final finish line which doesn’t exist. It’s not a sprint it’s a marathon. So rather than trying to do everything on your to-do list, you need to find a rhythm that’s sustainable.

Jedi trick 2: Be a simpleton when it comes to your to-do list

Here’s a very simple trick that can help you focus and feel more on top of things:

At the end of your work day or beginning of day (experiment with what works best for you): take a fresh piece of paper and write only 3 things. These are your must-do for the day, everything else you do is bonus. When things come up during the day, don’t add them to your list, put them on a different piece of paper or file if you prefer electronic. You can call this list: “ideas” or “other people's agenda”. The important thing is: your list of 3 priorities is yours and once you are done you get to throw it out and feel great about accomplishing what you decided was important for that day. Notice how it feels to actually get to the end of your list. If you want to go even more simpleton you can decide to have only ONE thing on your list.

Jedi trick 3: Slow down your response time and let time work for you

If you like to tick things off, chances are you are quick to respond to emails and messages coming in. One way to have fewer things on your list is to sloooow down. When you slow down, the people in the other end of that email also tend to slow down. Most emails don’t require immediate response, wait a few days or a week (you can use the “send later” feature in your email client). This was a game changer for me, I didn’t think it would make a big difference, but it turns out that by not taking action right away a lot of things just work themselves out. Not everything has to be done and not everything has to be done by you. 

Your head is for having ideas not holding ideas

There are two ways to implement this: having a perfect system you trust 100% OR trust that you don’t need a perfect system. Having a perfect system requires a lot of energy and attention, it’s exhausting. Developing trust that you don’t always need to be in control, that time can work for you, and that it’s ok to drop the ball once in a while may not be easy, but it’s so worth it. 

Which of these ideas are you going to try out? Do you have your own favourite Jedi tricks? Drop me a line, I would love to hear about your experiences 😊