The Importance Of A Done List

More than that, they are the things that keep me moving forwards in the right direction.

But every now and again I do feel the sheer weight of everything on my list. My master list grows and grows until it’s out of all proportion to the number of things I can lift from it and place onto my daily tasks list.

Once that feeling of overwhelm pokes its head over the wall I know I need to dust down a strategy and deal with it. There are a few strategies I can call upon but one that’s a really enjoyable process is writing a Done List.

I read somewhere that a lime is the genetic opposite of a lemon. I don’t know why but I think that’s brilliant and really hope it’s true. Well, a Done List is the exact opposite of a To Do List and I fully recommend that, now and again, you invest the time to write your own Done List.

Instead of detailing all the many tasks you need to find time to be working on, you do the exact opposite and write down a big list of all the things you have already done. Or at the very least made progress on.

Looking at your Done List can change your mood very quickly and allow you to feel okay about where you are. You might actually feel more than okay and even feel quite good about the progress you’ve made and the things you’ve achieved.

If cut yourself some serious slack and look back far enough you’ll realise that there’s a huge amount of progress been made and that you can quite rightly be proud of your achievements.

Take some time to consider your Done List and bathe in the reflected glory of those completed jobs.

Regardless of your current To Do List and the items on it clogging up your future schedule, taking a few minutes now to pat yourself on the back for what you’ve already done can be a great tonic and confidence booster. That validation can also motivate you to get through your current list.

It’s crazy really and doesn’t make logical sense, as the pressure is usually imagined and usually not very helpful.

Burkeman’s suggestion of starting the day at ‘zero balance’ removes unnecessary pressure. I think of it as having my Done List as the base for everything else I need to do.

Thinking like this allows any tasks crossed off my current To Do list to be added to the ongoing achievements of an always in place Done List. Does that make sense? At least that’s how I’m using it in my mind.

What would happen if you didn’t achieve anything at all in a day? With this mindset it wouldn’t matter because you’re already at zero balance. There’s no slap on the wrist and feeling of inadequacy because you got nothing done — you’ve already done enough.

I know enough Top Tips readers personally to be able to see the shivers of discomfort at that last suggestion of not getting anything done in a day!

Of course there are certain things that really do have to be completed. It’s my turn to cook dinner this evening and if I don’t actually do that there’d be trouble. Big trouble!

But the reality is that you’ll get on with the jobs that need doing anyway because there’s no weird imaginary pressure for those things. (Plus I’ll be hungry too!)

It’s the other things that you’re already mentally beating yourself up about that you’ll find don’t worry you so much when you realise you’re already at ‘zero balance’. And have been all day!

Additionally, the comfort of starting at ‘zero balance’ might mean that you work a little more easily and in turn achieve a little bit more with less effort. I hope you find that’s the case!

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