Using Microsoft To Do to organize my day
Distractions
I suffer from Imposter Syndrome and I’ve taken a step recently to work on this by myself and the aid of a psychologist. During the consults with my psychologist, we realized that one of the things that makes my symptoms worse is organizing my day. I’m pretty bad at making a planning and sticking to it.
Some of the things I do:
- Start my day with opening my Email and act on the incoming Emails and tickets
- Get distracted from my daily goals with things that pop-up in between
- Email (both personal and work related)
- Tickets
- Questions via chat
- Phone calls
- Things I read on blogs
- Personal distractions like family, chores, etc.
- Postpone the difficult things that require focussing (like coding) to the end and then never get to it. (while I also really like to do these, at least I think I do…)
Fact is, I get distracted a lot and during the day, I usually forget about my planning.
One of the things I’m trying to adopt is Microsoft To Do app, which can be used for .. well, to-do-lists. It’s very easy to use and you can sign in online using the web application or download the app from the Microsoft store for Windows 10 or the iOS or Android app.
Apart from using Microsoft To Do, I’ve also did the following to keep myself more focussed:
- Disable push notifications of only silent notifications for lots of my smartphone apps. (WhatsApp, Email etc.)
- Stop watching so much news/blog sites during the day
- Start the day early with a workout, gym or running to start energized with your day
- Unsubscribe from lots of useless Email Newsletters
- Take regular breaks away from the screen, preferably an active break like a short walk or excercise
- Don’t look too much at social media like LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
I know much is related to self-discipline, but preventing distractions in the first place helps me a little bit with that.
Conclusion
I guess it’s different for everyone how to stay productive and focussed and it’s too early for me to say if the tools and adjustments above will make a difference for me. I might update this blog article in the future, but in the meantime, I hope you can use some of these tips for your own productivity.