Most of us have numerous goals that we want to achieve in different areas of our lives. However, it can be overwhelming trying to focus our time and energy on obtaining these goals we’ve set for ourselves. Too often we have so many things we want to work on. This makes us lose focus, get too stressed, and end up not moving forward with anything. However, creating a simple task list will enable you to focus on your goals and make progress.

We want to become healthier, spend more time with our partners or friends, and get that promotion at work. Or, we want to start that business we’ve always wanted to do, and spend time on our hobbies and dreams. All whilst trying to get enough sleep, keep the house tidy, and find time to relax.

No wonder we feel like we don’t get anywhere a lot of the time with what’s important to us. Days turn into weeks, weeks into months. Then, before you know it, the year is over and you haven’t done half of what you had set out to do.

I’ve found that writing a small task list for myself every morning has helped me to become more focused. It has enabled me to achieve more, and actually do the things that I’ve been putting off for ages.

Simply make a list on your phone’s note section every morning of things you want to achieve that day. Then, tick them off as soon as they’re done. You’ll find that the more you tick off the more you’ll want to do.

Start Simple

The key is not to overwhelm yourself when creating your simple task list. Therefore, start with small, quick, and simple tasks that you need to do that you can achieve with not too much time or energy. Doing even the smallest of tasks will give you a sense of achievement. This will motivate you to tick off more things as the day goes on.

If you’ve been meaning to tidy the house for days and are dreading the thought of facing the mess. Then pick a quick and easy task for today to start like sorting the recycling and putting it outside. This 5-minute job will make you feel better about yourself. Furthermore, it will make you slightly less stressed about the amount of stuff you need to tidy.

Additionally, you may feel like you’re drifting away from your friends. It can feel like everyone is so busy with work and other things. So, a simple quick task would be to send a text to a friend you haven’t talked to in a while to see how they are. It literally takes seconds but will have a massive positive impact on your mood. Furthermore, it’s one less thing to stress about and will calm your mind. When you create a simple task list and achieve things off it, it encourages you to do more.

Break Down Big Goals: Create a Simple Task List

It can be daunting having big goals like moving out, setting up your own business, changing your career, losing weight, planning a wedding, etc. Focusing on the end goal can make you feel anxious and stressed because you don’t know how you’re going to get there. Moreover, there’s so much for you to think and stress about doing and planning.

Working on a dream or making big changes in your life can be stressful. Many of us give up before we’ve even tried because we set ourselves unrealistic timeframes and goals too early.

Your list shouldn’t look like…

• Save enough money to move out
• Decide on my career
• Lose a stone
• Finally set up own business
• Get a new job
• Go to the gym 5 times a week
• Don’t eat any snacks
• Clean the whole house

More often than not, these tasks will just sit on the list and rarely get done. They’re too much to start with and there are a lot of components that contribute to obtaining these goals. Therefore, you need to create a simple task list to avoid overwhelm and procrastination taking over.

How to Create a Simple Task List

Say you want to lose weight and feel like you need to join a gym, run 5 times a week, and drink 2 litres of water a day. Additionally, you want to cut out snacking altogether, stop drinking alcohol, and only eat healthy meals. You want to join a fitness class, stop going for meals with your friends, and never have any takeaways.

One, you’ll be miserable, two, you’ll never stick to all these goals, three, you’ll feel like a failure when you mess up on one of the days and then are more likely to quit and go back to your old ways. Therefore, you need to break down each big goal into little easily achievable goals that you can implement into your daily life slowly. This way it won’t make it feel like a massive chore or add stress to your life.

For instance, write a small task list for your day with everyday stuff like doing the washing, lunch with a friend, work, buying chicken, etc. Then, add one small thing to your list to help you achieve your bigger goal, such as checking the price of the gym. Then that’s it, that’s all you have to do for your fitness goal that day. Once you’ve ticked that off your list, even though it’s a small and simple task, you’ll get a boost of self-esteem and feel good that you’ve taken the first step.

Then, the next day you could put on your list to drink a glass of water when you wake up and one before bed. You’ll soon find that these little daily tasks add up over time. Therefore, you’ll be more inclined to stick to doing them and you’ll be working towards your goal a little every day which in time adds up to a lot.

Create a Simple Task List

If you find that your task lists for the day aren’t getting done, then you are probably setting yourself unattainable goals that are too big and daunting. Therefore, you need to start with the easiest task first and then build from there. If you’re procrastinating and not getting around to ticking that day’s tasks off your list then you have set your expectations too high. However, when you create a simple task list you are more likely to achieve your goals in time.

If you want to follow a dream like writing a novel, then writing on your to-do list “write a novel” is way too big to start with. Everyone is different, so one person might have on their first list, “write the opening chapter of my novel” and this might work for them. However, a lot of people will put this off for weeks or even months because it’s still a daunting task.

Therefore, breaking it down even further is a great way to actually start achieving your goals. So, good earlier tasks to put on the list would be, buying a notepad to jot down novel ideas, and brainstorming potential titles. Or, reading an article on how to write a novel, spending 5 minutes making a list of possible ideas for a novel, etc.

Remember, you need to think of the easiest task first for every goal and then build from there. You may feel like buying a notepad isn’t going to help anything and it’s too small of a task. However, you will definitely do it and it’s the first step towards achieving your goal.

Any progress is good progress, so do the easiest and smallest task first. Then, another easy task the next day and the next, before you know it you’ll want to achieve more and you’ll be on the right track to obtaining your goals and making positive changes permanently. If you set your goals too high then 90% of the time you’re not even going to start. You’re giving yourself unrealistic targets to achieve too early on.

“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned”– Peter Marshall

Summary

Making a simple task list daily and ticking them off creates a great sense of achievement. This gives you a massive confidence and self-esteem boost as you’re taking positive steps towards obtaining your goals and changing your daily habits.

It will help you to become more motivated and productive. Once you start achieving positive changes in your life, it becomes contagious. You will want the sense of achievement to grow by doing more and more little tasks each day. Moreover, it will give your day more structure and focus. This will help to ease your mind of stress when you start doing more things daily off your to-do list.

Remember, to not overwhelm yourself and break down your goals into daily easy-to-do things. Achieving little and often is far more attainable, sustainable, and motivating than having too much on your plate and quitting after a few days.

“If you talk about it, it’s a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real”– Tony Robbins

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