Why your to-do list might be holding you back

Why your to-do list might be holding you back

By Jessica Salerno-Shumaker, OSCPA senior content manager

Brandon Fredericks, CPA, has opted out of the traditional to-do list, instead using his calendar to ensure he prioritizes the most meaningful work.

“We get so infatuated with checkmarks and scratchingthings off,” said Fredericks, a principal at AppleGrowth Partners.

And I think sometimes we just get so caught up with completing something, that we're not really asking ourselves, what is it that we're actually trying to do? What's the impact that we're trying to make?

Fredericks joined us recently on The State of Business podcast to discuss a blog post he wrote titled “The Death of the To-Do List,” about how that isn’t the most efficient way to prioritize important projects, how to use a calendar instead.

A calendar allows professionals to be more objective and specific when blocking off time for certain tasks or meetings, Fredericks said. It forces one to consider how to spend time in a meaningful way because there are limited hours in the day. A to-do list, in contrast, can be endless, making it easy to lose track of what matters most.

Each person has their own approach to scheduling what makes sense for them on their calendar, Fredericks said, but his approach is simple: if it’s important to you, schedule it. He said this even extends to activities outside of work, like spending time with family or working out.

It can be difficult to decide what to prioritize, especially when there are different tasks competing for attention. To make this approach successful, Fredericks said to take some time to consider your role and what makes sense to focus on.

“Look at your role within your organization,” Fredericks said.

Where do you provide the most impact or contributions? If you're a person providing client experience, you're going to need to look at your schedule and reserve time for those client meetings.

And for those worried that this means they’ll become overlyscheduled, Fredericks said the intention here isn’t to scheduleevery minute. The calendar should be flexible, and it shouldbring intentionality and meaning to time.

“To me, it's not so much about getting more done,”Fredericks said. “It's about the quality and what we're puttingforth to move forward. Whatever that objective or initiative is,my metric or evaluation criteria at the end of the day is, howdid we move the needle?”