A Long List Won't Decide for You

You have a list.

It's probably long.

And every time you add something to it,
you feel, for a few seconds,
more in control.

It's written down now.

You won't forget it.

The problem shows up when you open it again.

Twenty-three tasks.

Thirty-seven.

Some have been sitting there for weeks.

Others for months.

And suddenly,
you don't know where to start.

Not because you have too much to do.

Because you haven't decided
what deserves attention first.

Write.

A list can hold everything
you have to do.

It can't decide for you.

It doesn't know what has consequences.

It doesn't know what unlocks something else.

It doesn't know what you've been avoiding
because it's uncomfortable.

It only holds phrases.

“Call…”
“Prepare…”
“Look into…”
“Finish…”

And a list full of phrases
can look like organization.

Even when it's just accumulation.

Without opening your list, write down
the three things weighing on you most this week.

Look.

Open your list.

Pick the three tasks
that have been sitting there the longest.

Do they match what you just wrote?

Now ask yourself:

What would happen if I didn't do this this week?

What would change if I did?

Is this actually a task?

Or is it a decision
I keep refusing to make?

Decide.

Pick one.

Not the easiest one.

Not the one you can cross off
in five minutes.

The one that, if you do it,
moves something important forward.

Or takes the weight off
everything else.

Do.

Open idazery.

Look at your week before adding anything else.

Pick a specific day.

And put that task there.

Not as a wish.

As something you've decided to do.

Planning isn't finding room for everything.

It's deciding what deserves room right now.

See you next Sunday,

Jesús
idazery.com