You’re Not Going To Complete All Your Tasks, And That’s Okay.
This week, we’re looking at why you don’t need to worry if you cannot complete your planned tasks each day. You can subscribe to this podcast on: Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | TUNEIN Links: Email Me | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin Email Mastery Course The Time Blocking Course The Working With… Weekly Newsletter The Time And Life Mastery Course The FREE Beginners Guide To Building Your Own COD System Carl Pullein Learning Centre Carl’s YouTube Channel Carl Pullein Coaching Programmes The Working With… Podcast Previous episodes page Episode 248 | Script Hello and welcome to episode 248 of the Working With Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host for this show. Do you feel you have to complete your daily task list every day? How do you feel if you don’t manage to complete your list of tasks? Most people become disillusioned when they end the day with several tasks left, and that can lead to a rabbit hole of app and system switching—which is never the solution. Quite often, what will happen is those tasks that didn’t get done today will be automatically pushed off to tomorrow, which, rather than solving the problem, only exasperates it because now you have more tasks to do tomorrow on top of the inevitable disruptions, emergencies and distractions. So, this week, I will hopefully give you some strategies and tips to eliminate this problem and give you the confidence to accept sometimes you will not be able to complete your tasks, and that’s okay. So, without further ado, let me hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice for this week’s question. This week’s question comes from Simon. Simon asks: Hi Carl, for many years, I have used a task list—from using a paper planner in the early 2000s to now being digital. One problem I have always faced is not being able to complete all my tasks. I always end the day with tasks still on my list. Do you have the same problem, and if so, how do you manage it? Hi Simon, thank you for your question. Firstly, let me say it’s perfectly normal to end most days with tasks uncompleted. You are not a machine—you are a human being, and we have a tendency to overestimate what we can do in a day. Added to that, there are always going to be disruptions, emergencies and things going wrong that you cannot plan for. When these disruptions and emergencies arise, we just need to deal with them as best we can, and that means some things you had planned for the day will have to be missed. That’s a normal day for most of us. Disruptions, emergencies and things going wrong. Welcome to the real world. The solution is not to change your system or apps. The solution is coming to terms with these disruptions and emergencies. Now, if we dig a little deeper, our daily task list will be a mix of three types of tasks: Tasks that must be done, Tasks that should be done and tasks that can be rescheduled if necessary—these are what I would describe as the hope to do tasks. If you look at your task list for today, you will see this mix. Now, the strategy is to be very clear about what must be done. These tasks are your top priority for the day, and where possible, you should start your day with these tasks—before disruptions and emergencies occur. I know that is not always possible, and when it is not possible—perhaps you have an early morning meeting or you are travelling somewhere, you need to schedule the time in your calendar, so you know you have the time to do it. Now when these emergencies and disruptions do occur, you need to accept them—embrace them, if you like—analyse what you have control over, and if you do have some control, make a decision on what you will do. Often, if you just step back for a minute and analyse the emergency or disruption, you will find there is an easy solution. Panicking will not help you. The only way to deal with these