It’s easy for me to get distracted with (sometimes unrelated) side tasks. Admitting I have a problem often means admitting this moment’s activity isn’t essential to my goal for right now. Putting my to-do-right-now list on a sticky note for each time block helps me stay focused. 

Benefits of a small, tangible ‘“now list”

I’ve used open documents on my computer desktop to hold this “now list” but somehow having them in the real world, stuck to the timer cube on my desk, helps me stay more focused in the real world. It’s also gratifying to cross “now list” items off with a physical pen rather than digitally deleting them.

This little, sticky, paper list gives me a reminder of what my planning self decided for my curious self to work on–every time I have to look down at my desktop. Like twitter’s character limitation, the nine square inches of a sticky note makes me focus on the prioritized few things I should be doing. The size prevents me from getting over-ambitious or too detailed. 

Because we can’t be fully focused all the time

Typically I do need to do some things that aren’t along the direct path to completing my “now list”.  If I completely dig in, others can get held up for my lack of thirty seconds to answer a simple question. Or, the little things in life start to pile up into a lake of stuff I’m constantly wading through. Using my cube timer gives me a  limited number of minutes to complete what I think will be a quick distraction from the items on the “now list”.

Some distractions, especially research, creep up on me because they start with an activity needed to complete the next item. I needed to look into the GPL and LGPL license for a company I was working with. My research initially worked towards my “now list” goal of refreshing my memory to be able to intelligently discuss open source license issues. But as I read, I recalled that Richard Stallman was a force behind the GPL “infection” phenomena so I figured I should know something about his role in that development. Then I learned he was embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy and, being a techie prone to saying the wrong thing myself, I started reading about the controversy. I never set my timer, so the point at which the camel’s nose got under the tent was not obvious. However, when I looked down to move my hand from the mouse back to the keyboard, my eyes swept across my sticky “now list” with the next task “Refresh on GPL” and I was startled back to the task at hand.   

The sticky “now list” can work as part of a larger system

The physical, sticky-note-based, “now list” is also something my brain can work with in real time.  I currently have seven google to-do lists using www.taskboard.com for: writing, music, career development, paying gigs, curiosities, my sleep-sound-masking startup idea, and even a permanent grocery list. That is too many to deal with in any given block of time or day. So I put what I want to get done on a physical sticky note. 

Then I can easily ignore all the rest of the dozens of items on each of my eight lists. Given my psychological makeup it is easier for me to move on and focus after I have decided on the top priorities. Putting those highest priority items on the sticky “now list” creates a tiny artifact that memorializes the fact that I made a decision. That way I am not burning energy continually revisiting what is important and what is next during my time block.