Large "to do" lists
Sometimes I find that my "to do" list grows as a faster pace than I can complete the tasks and cross them off. Any suggestions?
I am also faced with this same issue at work. Fortunately I have the option of delegating some tasks to other people, which helps greatly. As much as I would like to complete some projects by myself, all too often something new comes along that is more important and handing the task (or at least parts of it) to someone else helps keep your to-do task list manageable.
Pushing back is so important Joan. I'm glad you mentioned this. It's really important that we politely say no to tasks that are outside of our job descriptions. Otherwise, we become overloaded with other people's work.
Be careful that other people aren't putting their items on YOUR to do list. We are trained to say "yes" and to try to please others. We must learn to say "no", or "not right now", or "have you asked anyone else?"
At first, you might get a bad reaction because people are used to leaning on you, and they may resist this change. Be sure to say "no" pleasantly. I sometimes find myself saying "yes" when I really want to say "no", and then I feel resentful. If the resentment builds ... then the "no" may become "NO!"
I have this same issue at my full time job. I am an assistant to an RN and I am constantly updating my to do list whenever she gives me a new task or project. It has gotten to the point where making my to do list each day has become its own item on my to do list. Each day my list is getting longer and longer.
If anyone has any suggestions on what to do here, other than adding an extra few hours to the day, I would also love to hear them.
I find that I have the same problem, but what I like to do is break my tasks down by day. I usually use something like.
Mon.
Tues.
Weds.
Thurs.
Fri.
Sat/Sun
Then I list my tasks that I need to complete and/or want to complete on those respect days and strike through them as I complete them.
