Do you wake up in the morning with a full list of things you’d like to accomplish, only to find yourself struggling to get anything done as your day unfolds?

In our culture, being productive is valued. But in reality, you may find yourself falling short because you took on too much or focused on the wrong things. Supposedly successful people will talk about getting a lot accomplished. They love being goal-oriented, but their taskmaster attitude doesn’t always lead to happiness of they are not practicing self-care.

Does It Make You Happy?

One of the key indicators of how quickly you accomplish your tasks is linked to how much you enjoy doing them. Doing a lot for the sake of having a lot of accomplishments in your day won’t feel great. You’ll just end up feeling worn out from doing too much.

Instead, choose a few meaningful things to handle, and enjoy doing them. Don’t worry if you don’t get everything done. Often, the deadlines you place on your to do list are arbitrary and self-imposed. Choose what really matters and do those things first. If you’re feeling good, you can add more.

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

Not everyone enjoys a highly regimented schedule, so do what feels right for you. You may think that doing one thing well is enough, or you may see an opportunity to line up a few related tasks and handle them as a group.

Look for the natural groupings of your tasks, such as the ones that require driving your car, or the things you need to use your computer for. You may decide to cut the grass and weed the garden on the same day. This makes sense and it won’t create unnecessary stress by scheduling things that don’t really go well together.

Keep a Journal

Writing down your list of tasks makes it easier to remember, and you’ll feel great getting to check them off as you accomplish them. You can use a bullet journal, a calendar, or a planner app on your phone. Whenever you feel energized, look at your list and choose one thing to handle at a time.

You can organize the details in many ways. To keep it simple, you may want to keep a list for each week, so the pressure of accomplishing a list every day is not overwhelming.

Consider Your Timing

You may prefer to do your shopping around dinner time, as this reduces the number of shoppers. If you want to head downtown, avoiding rush hour may save you time and stress.

Do you find you have more energy in the morning, afternoon or evening? Handling tasks when you feel most energetic is another way to maximize your efficiency.

Be gentle with yourself during low energy periods by practicing self-care. Low energy times are great for relaxing and unwinding, ensuring that your whole day is not filled with doing and accomplishing. Downtime is important, too. You’ll feel better by allowing this balance in your life.

Conclusion

Although accomplishing large amounts of tasks may give you a sense of accomplishment, being always on the go can be stressful and lead to dissatisfaction.

Self-care is important for happiness and satisfaction. Getting a lot done can lead to feeling stressed and unhappy.

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