Kill your TODO list and put everything in your calendar
I wrote this in 2016 on Instagram. The instagram post is linked at the end.
One of the things I’ve started doing two weeks ago was to play Tetris with my life and time. It means I’ve started scheduling everything, including my sleep, and I’ve effectively killed my to-do list.
Let’s start with the to-do list. Do you have one? Look at it. Look at all the crap you should have done weeks ago or months ago, but you haven’t touched. Their existence is proof that you suck at doing things you set your mind to. Cross all those off, because if you’ve waited that long, they can’t be important enough to keep around.
Next, let’s talk about sleep and scheduling everything and playing Tetris. I’ve come to see everything I do and have to do as Tetris blocks and my entire life is the Tetris board and when I die, it means I have more than I can handle and that’s game over.
Tetris blocks represent things that need to be done. You know how Tetris works: every single block has to fit somewhere and you have to clear lines, as in get things done, otherwise, you’re dead.
With that in mind, it makes total sense to schedule sleep as well as everything else, like time to hang out with friends and time to spend with family.
Let’s go back to the to-do list. I don’t have one anymore. Now, when you ask me to do something, I put it in my calendar. I effectively make time for it; I, you, and others, know when it will happen, unlike with a to-do list where you just write down things, but you have no clue when you’ll get to it and get it done, if it’s going to get done at all.
Then some people tell me that by scheduling/planning everything, I don’t leave room for the unexpected and spontaneity. To that, I guarantee (I don’t do that a lot) that no matter how hard you plan, surprise will find you, whether it’s good or bad. It’s a human world after all.
Serendipity: my schedule deviates on a weekly basis, but back to the Tetris game, deviating is the equivalent of misplacing blocks, either on purpose or by accident. What you have to do is readjust and get back on track or… Game over.