Needing to Do More

I'm trying to get some projects completed, and parts of others. As readers know, the endless to-do list is something both my wife and I maintain. I'm certain I don't add everything I wish to accomplish to the list(s) we maintain — I'd end up spending the day adding to lists, not working on them.

My goals for this weekend include:

• Finish unpacking our music collection.
• Verify technical books are in my database.
• Compose three to five blog posts.
• Edit a client project.
• Update at least one Web page.
• Work on my two research projects.

The full list is much longer, but I am trying to be somewhat realistic. I might accomplish some of my goals, but most likely I will complete portions of some of them. There will be some CDs still in piles, some books unverified, and I doubt the blog posts will be backlogged to my satisfaction. Despite my best efforts, I doubt I will complete this editing pass through the client project, too.

Is it a lack of focus or a lack of time? Or, do I have too many goals?

I used to take at least one tech-free day. Those days were not breaks, since there are hundreds of things to do without computers.

Other people seem to have lots of "downtime" to play video games, watch TV, and enjoy other distractions. We all need downtime, and I do take time off, but I often feel guilty after taking a break. I need to remind myself that I need time off-task to do my work better. Still, it feels like other people "do less" because they don't have a compulsion to always be working towards something. I want to do more than one person can do.

Time off is essential. What is it when your "time off" is still spent trying to be productive?

Back to my to-do list….