The drive to be consistent
This is one of the best productivity hacks ever, when we write things down, we have this internal push to be consistent with what we express about ourselves. It is one of the most fundamental aspects of human psychology, we need to be consistent with who we are. This is a deeply important trait that ensures we can be a constructive part of our tribe.
What should be done today?
Start by writing down everything that has to be done, small or big, then categorize them with Soon or Later. Then in the Soon category prioritize the tasks. Writing things down is the first step, and sorting by priority is the next step. To help with prioritizing tasks, ask a simple question “Does this task belong to the 20% of tasks that will bring 80% of the value?”. If yes, then move those tasks to the top. There will be only a couple of truly important tasks and focusing on them will guarantee a 10x productivity increase.
What distractions might prevent me from achieving that today?
Before starting to work on the tasks, envision, what might interrupt you from completing today’s tasks. What was distracting last time? What is an easy way to avoid such a distraction? This will help with inevitable distractions when they occur
Enjoy the day
If there is still some anxiety, it usually means there is too much to do, returning to this document and reviewing it again can help. Maybe there are too many things that are marked as important, cutting it down to only one important thing can help.