Staying Focused is Hard

I started using Todoist a few weeks back. It was going to make my life better. I’d be more organized, get more things done. Get the right things done! I have 66 undone tasks on my list. Everyday going up another 10.

You may think I have too many things on my list. I’ve heard advice at one point that if I ever have a day where I can’t get it all done, I should cut my list in half for the next day. Some psychological hurdle you can overcome by tricking your brain into thinking it’s productive. So you may be thinking that I am just trying to do too many things and I should cut back.

But you’d probably be partially wrong. I indeed do too many things, but they’re not on my todo list. For example, stupid me must have watched 6 episodes of an old show called “The Wire” yesterday. That wasn’t on my todo list. I didn’t do my German lesson, program my video game, or do chores. I did get some painting done while watching the show though, so not a total waste of time.

I spend time organizing my todos, figuring out what’s important to me. Watching “The Wire” doesn’t land high on that list when I’m thinking about these things in the morning. But come evening, all bets are off. I find I lack the self-control to do the things I say matter to myself. I claim to myself that I have a deep interest in physics, but when was the last time I read about it? I claim I want to make a video game, but how much time and effort do I actually put into it?

Part of me wants to give up on my claims. “Oh well”, I say, “I guess I don’t like physics as much as I thought.” But I won’t. I’m stubborn like that. I’m going to power through my todos today. I’m not going to drink any alcohol tonight (I find the nights with no alcohol are much more productive, correlation?). And I’ll do the things I say matters to me most.