Lynn Truong’s recent post at Wisebread talks about our obsession with productivity & questions whether it really helps us in the end…  It’s an interesting idea to ponder.  Being that I am always seeking balance in my life, I have decided to take action to fight the stress that mercilessly creeps up on me both at work and at home.

Run my day with a 5-item to-do list.  Guidelines:

1. Work gets 3-4 items, Home gets 1-2 items.  5 MAX.
2. Create the list the day before: Work items are added before I hop on my bike to head home, Home items are added before I brush my teeth & settle into bed.
3. I will keep a “This Week”, “Soon”, & “Someday” file on my desktop.  New tasks that pop into my mind or are thrown at me get slotted onto these lists.  I use these lists as a resource for building the next day’s list.  I only organize the list once a week.
4. I do all five things every day.  If I finish early, I’ll reward myself with fun, not with a 6th task.

Will the 5-item to-do list simplify my life? We’ll see.

Resources
To-Do List Blog What Our Lists Reveal About Us
Lifehack.org Back to Basics: Your Task List
Finance Daily 12 New Rules of Working You Should Embrace Today
Kick My ADD GMail To-Do list idea

“Eliminate stray notes and pieces of paper by writing important to-do tasks on an erasable board near the door.”

While this may not be the place to keep a grocery list, it would definitely help remind me to take out the trash in the morning, or to pack a specific book for work in my bag.

When it comes to scrolling, I think I’ve just enhanced my daily productivity by a factor of 2!