That’s What I Did: The “Done” List

When I came across an article by Janet Choi on the 99U website titled, “The Art of the Done List: Harnessing the Power of Progress,” I was intrigued enough to read the entire piece. And then I was intrigued enough to try it.

The Done List is a proactive response to the relentless, slave-driver aspect of the To Do List. You know how you rarely finish all the items on your To Do List? The same is true for the rest of us. Then at the end of the day we’re disappointed in how little we accomplished. That’s because we measure our accomplishments by how many things we crossed off the To Do List, not by how many things we actually got done.

The idea is extremely simple. Based on The Busy Person’s Guide to the Done List:

1. When you do anything you consider useful, however small a win it may be, write it down on your done list. (Or wait until the end of the day to write down your list.)

2. At the end of the day, look at your list. Reflect on and celebrate all the things you got done!

3. Review regularly—in the mornings to kickstart your day, every week, month, or year, or simply whenever you’d like a little boost or look back.

What worked for me was to write things down shortly after I finished them and to exclude—for the most part, anyway—non work-related items. After just a few days, I noticed two things. First, I was actually somewhat more motivated to get the minor and annoying things on my To Do List done and crossed off. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was just an effect of paying attention in a different way. Second, I was surprised at how many things—large, small, and in-between—I do each day that aren’t on my To Do List but that contribute to my goals.

The biggest surprise from this experiment was this: the written evidence suggests I don’t waste as much time as I thought I did. The Done List has already given me a clearer picture not only of what I do all day but of the kinds of things that need to be done. If I don’t take into consideration some of the necessary tasks or activities I have to complete or involve myself in, I won’t schedule time for them. Which I wasn’t.

You can find a download link to The Busy Person’s Guide to the Done List at the bottom of the 99U article. It’s very thorough at 40 pages long and the authors of the book cite a number of sources to back up their assertions, including research by Dan Ariely, Antonio Damasio, and Ray Baumeister.

But all you really need are the three steps listed above. If you decide to try this, I’d like to know how it works for you.