Why You Should Plan To Get Less Done

From David Epstein — “Now I put one single thing atop the day’s list that, if accomplished, will mean the workday was a clear step in the right direction. Perhaps I’ll put a bonus thing or two lower down, but I want to leave room for mental meandering and rabbit holes, as well as for the occasional water in the basement. I’ve found that, rather than acting like a check-list, the to-do list has basically become a beacon — a reminder of the thing I should be focusing on. (And on the off chance that I somehow find myself ahead, I don’t seem to have trouble coming up with other things to do.) When it was a list with a dozen items, I had a tendency to start with the easy ones so that I could check something off, not the important one or two.”