My todo list with only one item
Okay. I gotta tell you about this new thing I’ve been doing.
I have a todo list. And it has one item.
Just. One. Item.
Let me explain…
I get distracted very easily. I sometimes struggle with decision paralysis / paradox of choice. And boy, do I wanna be good at everything.
The point is, I struggle with todo lists.
I write so many items down. And then get so sad at all the unchecked boxes. (I guess all the checked boxes don’t seem to affect me much.)
And separate from todo lists. I do this thing. Where I start on a task. And somewhere in the middle of that task… start another. And then somewhere in the middle of that task… start another. And then somewhere in the middle of that task… okay you get the idea. 1
And after a while… I forget what I was doing in the first place.
My one item todo list solves these problems!
If I get distracted, I just look at my todo list and am immediately reminded of what I originally chose to be doing.
And boy is it satisfying to look at a todo list with so many completed items!!
I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, and it’s been really helpful for me! If you’re like me and struggle with distractions or get overwhelmed with all the things you want to do, I wholeheartedly recommend giving this system a try!
I wrote a separate ((probably) boring) Appendix post with the specifics of my particular system if you’re curious, but the main philosophy is simple:
Choose one task to focus on, until you Finish it.