The Infinite To-Do List

Hey everyone,

Does it ever feel like you have an infinite to do list? We currently live in a culture of productivity and hustle where working all day every day is often encouraged.

Nate expresses this in his song called Why - ‘I could be workin' for twenty-four hours a day and think I never did enough.’

We are never satisfied with what we achieve, and focus heavily on inputs, i.e the time we spend doing stuff. We also have a short-term mindset focusing on the immediate day instead of a longer time period. Ultimately, we overestimate what we can do in a day but underestimate what we can do in a decade. We don’t think often enough about the bigger picture or about the most important outputs.

I finished my reading goal for the year to finish 50 books. And yet, my reading list has never been longer. There can be a tendency to rush, to ‘get stuff done’ without fully appreciating the value of the thing itself. The learning, experience, struggle and complexity. The value isn’t finishing the book, its engaging with the pages inside. Its about shifting the focus towards this. Its not a case of quantity of books read but instead the amount of value I have gained from them.

We have a choice. We can choose to be ok with what we’ve done. There is always stuff you could be doing, but this isn’t where the focus should be. Focus on what you got out of the task and not what you put into it, in terms of hours or quantity. We can also develop realistic expectations based on what we can achieve in a given time period.

This week, I encourage you to plan less on your to do list. See how it feels. Think about whether you set unrealistic amounts to do each day and aim to focus on the output.

What I am Reading/Listening To This Week…

Book: No Filter. It is hard to deny the fact that Instagram has transformed business, celebrities, and our culture. This book explores the creation of Instagram over the past decade to where it currently is today. There is great insight into Silicon Valley at the time social media was exploding along with why Facebook decided to keep Instagram separate, as if in competition. Instagram has evolved massively and the original aims of the founders have become lost, with Instagram creating an unintended culture in society.

Podcast: Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO. Steve is back with his much awaited Season 3 of the podcast. Steve created a 200mil social media marketing company 7 years ago called Social Chain, but has recently quit his role there as CEO. Steve, as insightful as ever, talks about quitting, uncertainty, taking control, growing on Instagram, asking better questions, Covid-19 and BLM. The content is diverse and refreshingly truthful, raw and honest.

Video: The 0 Hour Workweek. I really enjoyed this well put together video on the history of the work week, how things could change and an exciting, but in ways radical new outlook. It takes into consideration a few of the things I mention in the Infinite To-Do list piece above about focusing on outputs. Over the next decade, there is likely to be further changes to the way we work, going beyond simply more remote work. As technology has improved drastically and created many efficiencies, we have ended up working more than ever, which doesn’t really make sense.

A Quote To Get You Thinking…

"If an egg is broken by an outside force, life ends. If broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from the inside.” Jim Kwik

Any questions, comments or thoughts - I would love to hear from you! Email me at matt@mattswain.co.uk or DM me on insta @mattswain_ or twitter @MattSwainBlog

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