Sometimes we get so overwhelmed that we think we won’t be able to do everything, at least time dating. Right now, for example, I’m overwhelmed by my to-do list.

I just spent the last few days trying to work, but not really getting it. I’m starting to do something and I’m distracted by the internet, a phone call, or an email. Now that I need to achieve maximum efficiency, I have become less productive than ever.

It should be the other way around, when we have a lot to do, we become very productive. Sometimes that even happens, but often if a lot of things vie for our attention, we don’t know where to start, so we just don’t even start.

The next time you find yourself in this situation, try the following approach.
1) Write down everything you need to do on a piece of paper: Resist the urge to use technology for this task. Why? Not sure, but somehow writing on paper and scratching items later increases motivation.
2) Spend 15 minutes completing as much of the easiest and fastest tasks as you can. Make the quick phone calls and send the short emails you need. Don’t worry about seeing these most important tasks to list. You are on the move, and that is what matters. The goal is to cross out as many tasks as possible in the least amount of time. Use a stopwatch to maintain concentration.
3) Work on the most complex tasks for the next 35 minutes. Turn off your phone, close all unnecessary windows on your computer, and choose the most challenging, stressful, or critical task from the list. Then work on it and only on it, without hesitation or distraction, for 35 minutes.
4) Take a 10 minute break, then restart the cycle. After 35 minutes working at full concentration, take a break. Then restart the one-hour process, starting with the 15 minutes of quick action.

Anne Lamott wrote the following in “Word for word”

About three decades ago, my older brother, then 10, was trying to do bird work. It had been three months deadline, but will leave it to the last minute, and unshakable had to be delivered the next day. He was almost crying, sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by daughters, pencils, and bird books, paralyzed by the enormity of the task before him. So my father sat beside him, put his arm around his shoulder and said, “One bird at a time.”

It is. One task at a time: start with the easy ones to get the feeling that you are scratching off items on the list, then take on the hard work to gain momentum and reduce stress. All timed.

Source: Do the work that needs to be done. Peter Bregman Text