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Feeling Constantly Behind.<\/strong> Something that happens to all of us at work is we become accustomed to always being behind in our tasks, and there\u2019s a part of our unconscious mind that worries about that. Since some of those tasks are important, an unconscious message that we repeat over and over in our head is \u201csomething important is slipping behind.\u201d It’s a scary thought!<\/p>\n Haunted.<\/strong> The result is that all day long, every day at work, we are haunted<\/i> by this message\u2014like a ghost! You probably don\u2019t even hear it anymore but it\u2019s always there in the back of your mind as ongoing self-talk or worry. And that self-talk takes a toll on you. It raises your ongoing stress level; it lowers your self-esteem; and it prevents you from enjoying your work. It even can cause you to gain weight<\/a>!<\/p>\n So what can you do?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take Away the Negative Power.<\/strong> You need a system, any system, which clearly shows you your entire list of tasks. When you can see all your tasks clearly, in priority order, you\u2019ll either 1) assess the big ones at the top realistically, or 2) realize that in fact nothing very important is left on your list. In either case, you take away the negative power of those haunting tasks. You’ll find that your background worry can go away because the demons are much less haunting when they are in plain sight. It means you can finally stop worrying.<\/p>\n Use a Good Task System.<\/strong> So use a good task system, one that clearly shows your prioritized tasks, and one that is easy enough to use to put all<\/i> of your tasks in it, even those coming in from e-mail. When you do that, you\u2019ll find your workday stress level goes way down, and you can start to enjoy work again. Which task system to use? Of course I\u2019m biased; the 1MTD or MYN<\/a> systems are my favorites and I encourage you to start using one of them today.<\/p>\n Michael Linenberger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" May 20, 2013 It\u2019s not Halloween, but I feel like a ghost theme is appropriate for this topic called Tasks that Haunt You. Here\u2019s why. Feeling Constantly Behind. Something that happens to all of us at work is we become … Continue reading