The Smoothie Recipe Of Great To-Do Lists
How to blend your to-do lists so it works effectively for you
When I was in secondary school, I used to make fun of people who had their lives outlined by daily, weekly, and in some cases, annual goals. I had seen ‘bad boys’ in high school movies live their lives without care. They just freestyled and ‘lived on the edge’/’when we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it.’
The older I got and the more in touch with my personality I became, the more I realised how much I hated being surprised. (Honestly, don’t visit me at my place without first informing me, unless it is terribly urgent.) I like to be able to predict outcomes and then plan for what I think is beyond my sphere of control.
I fell in love so much with this that I started writing out every activity I wanted to execute (down to hanging out with people and gaming.) But I was not comfortable with people seeing my To-Do lists. I, a bad guy, am writing “Game at 5.50-7” on a piece of paper! Anyway, I finally hacked the confidence (sub-plot to be developed in the future—amen) of using lists without shame. But I soon became an addict.
To-Do list addiction
Sometimes last year, before NAN became public, I wrote to my small list of readers then that I was struggling with using my To-Do list and would write about my observations when I overcame my challenges. Although I used the Pareto principle to push through, I finally discovered what the problem was.
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My problem was that I had become highly dependent on a To-Do list writing pattern. So much that when I did not execute my plans, I felt incredibly frustrated. My To-Do lists for most of 2020 were broken down into activity/hour. If the time for an activity passed and I did not finish it, I would have to sacrifice a ‘pleasure’ time to finish it off.
I was working on several research projects at my former job and it ate very deeply into all my personal time. This then meant I was only crossing one or two things off my To-Do list every day. And as an addict who was not getting his dose of adrenaline, I went mad with frustration.
The elixir
Now, note, that this is not a one-size-fits-all. Personality traits differ like thumbprints and our tolerance for certain activities are as multifarious as our ethnicities. That said, let us proceed.
The first thing I noted was that as much as I loved form, and being able to predict certain activities (I discovered this also related to my anxiety) if an activity was becoming repetitive, it became frustrating to me.
So I trashed To-Do lists. I just woke up and did whatever I was able to do. It worked slightly; it took the pressure off my shoulder and I slept fine for a few days. Until I realised that I had missed out on two deadlines because I did not remember them altogether. Wahala.
I was back to being frustrated and went to bed really pissed off at myself. When I woke up the next morning, I tried something different. I wrote out all the things I wanted to do and did not add a time limit to them. I looked at the list and did the most difficult thing first. By the end of the day, I had crossed off most of them.
The next day, I did the least important thing first and still went to bed excited.
I did this repeatedly till I was sure it was not about the importance of the task but the execution. I also reverted to my old activity/hour style and I loved it. That was when I realised that like smoothies, trying out new flavours of To-Do lists would take off mental stress from me in an exciting way. Also, using the same combination every day made a terrific way to bore me and also burnout.
Now, I just blend them as much as I can. Sometimes I number To-DO lists, sometimes I pick at random. Sometimes I use activity/hour, most times, I just do the thing. Find the rhythm that pushes the stress off your neck and execute it like an assassin.
TEA
SEND HELPPPPPP!!!
I recently started blending smoothies and juice by myself and I have had a couple of failed experiments. I know the easier thing to do is google recipes but trust me, the recipes I see online are often very alien to me. What is an Ajinomoto pepper and how do I blend it with suffering garlic? What will I do with crocodile tears in my orange juice?
Please, if you have tested fruit combinations, recommend them to me. I am tired of getting a cup of juice out of one large-sized pineapple. This Nigerian economy is tuff.
Finally, look at the tweet I am attaching below. What can you make out of it? Do you think making your bed before leaving your house has an impact on how productive you are? Please share your thoughts with me (I enjoyed reading and responding to all emails I received last week.)
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First of, I can't even lie, I am not the most productive person in this life, I am a quarter to deadline ginger kind of person. Working on it thou.
Second of, I share a bed with a toddler and mom, so we usually just take off the bed sheet till we are ready to sleep at night, cos if not, na every day we go wash bed sheet o. So no we no dey make bed before we commot for house.
My to-do list only worked when i stopped setting a time limit to it. I just need to write them down as reminders.
I always need to lay my bed before going out and arrange my room or bed space. I feel more relaxed when i'm out. Otherwise, half of my day is already frustrated because i know im coming back home to a disarranged area😂.
Same goes for my kitchen also.