What to Do When You Carry-Over Tasks
I've had the same task on my monthly to-do list every month since... January!
Buying and hanging curtains for our guest bedroom
Each month I just "carry it over" and rewrite it again, and again.
After so many months of seeing it on the to-do list, it's become a staple and subconsciously I'm probably just assuming I'm not going to get it done.
Ahh!!! So frustrating!
Do you carry over any tasks from day to day, week to week, or month to month?
But here's the thing... I know exactly why it's happening and what to do to fix it.
It's because you're not dedicating time to actually doing the thing.
You're just putting it on the list hoping it will get done, but you don't actually have a plan for when or how.
So it carries over and over and almost becomes this subliminal message that "you're not getting things done", that "you're behind", or "you don't have enough time".
None of which are true.
You're actually doing a lot! But because you're not crossing everything off your list at the end of the day, week, or month, you tell yourself the story that you're not doing enough.
Because if you were, everything would be completed and tasks wouldn't carry over.
So how do you make sure that tasks don't carry over?
You stop and consider how much time you actually have.
Then, instead of putting everything on your list that you fingers-crossed hope to accomplish, you only put on what you know you can accomplish.
The result is a much shorter list.
But what about all those other things that still need to get done?!? you might be asking.
You have two options:
Either set aside the time to actually do the thing that needs to get done by de-prioritizing something else in order to make the time.
Or put that task in the "parking lot"
Your parking lot is the place for things that need to get done (or that you want to do) at some point, just not today, this week, or this month.
(They'll always be there for you ready to step in like the understudy in a play)
So as for my guest room curtains, I've decided that I don't actually have time this month given my other priorities. So I'm crossing it off my September list and putting it back in my parking lot to consider for a future month.
And everything else that's on my list for the month are projects I know I actually have the time to complete. It's a pretty short list. And that's ok.
So my challenge to you is to shorten your list.
Make it really realistic. At least for now, so you can accomplish what you set out to do for the day.
So that you can build momentum.
And then, so you can close the list and not think about what you didn't do and instead think about what's in front of you. Maybe your kids, your partner, that great book you're reading, or something else. Just not the list.
If you want to learn (or get a refresher) on how to plan in a realistic way, and maybe even learn how to do less, I have just the thing.