Write down what you want to accomplish each day for better productivity and focus

Reading time: 1-2 min

I find that a good practice to increase productivity and work towards ‘intentional living’ is to write down somewhere up to 3 things I want to complete each day.

Those few things should have the type of nature that if you complete them, it wouldn’t matter if you do nothing else that day because you already did the most important thing in your mind.

The benefit of doing this is that you set good, clear goals and tasks to work towards soon after you wake up, and your mind can focus on them for the rest of the day. I find this a good way of knocking out big, daunting but important or pressing tasks.

I set 3 as a limit for myself as this prevents focus splitting and getting overwhelmed. This decreases context switching for greater productivity and makes it easier to get started.

It also sets a clear end point for the day for when you can reward yourself for your efforts, and anything else you accomplish are accomplishments on top of your primary achievement. I find this to be a nice time to do something that will benefit my future self such as learning something or working on a side project. Or simply chill and consume some entertainment. Without incomplete tasks bugging me and guilt free.

Doing this exercise in a daily journal can help you keep track of what you’ve accomplished each day and see far you’ve come in the future.