I’m going to shatter your belief that a good to-do-list simplifies your life.
No it doesn’t.
It just makes it live-able for a short while.
To Do Lists and the benefits of Time Management
I’m starting off with the belief that at least once in your life you made a to do list.
Yes, even a shopping list counts.
Ok, how did it feel to cross things off it?
That’s right. It gives you a little piece of mind.
That is, until the next project comes along. And you find yourself caught in the midst of action so fast, that you don’t have time to make a to do list. Isn’t that a little bit ironic?
Like Stephen Covey nicely put it “Are you too busy driving to take time to get gas?”
Time Management is gone. Effectiveness is the new black. 
To do lists, agendas and scheduling meetings are level one of getting yourself organized.
Level two actually starts from when you start asking yourself what you want to do with your life. You realize these tools are useful to you, but where are they getting you?
It’s no use walking faster if you’re not on the right road.
Ok, so you think up your “vision for life” and other pompous titles. You print them and post them on your desk. Or frame them. You have them in front all day.
But what are you doing about them?
See, Effectiveness comes in where Time Management fails. Time Management gives you the tools. But until you know where to go, the tools aren’t gonna help.
Effectiveness means doing the right things. Not only having a plan. Following it – every day. Being aware. Watching the road.
And mark my words, there’s tons of people out there who are running without a direction.
Get out of the mass. Find your own road – and walk it slowly, at your own pace. Enjoy the view.
Coming up in my next post – a tool I use (proudly stolen from someone more organized than I am!) that helps me get my priorities in order.
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