Just do three things in a day

I have been in situations when there are so many things that I need to do in a day. For the whole day I would run around trying to complete all those things that are on my list. I used to jump from one thing to another and often leave one thing undone completely and start doing another. At the end of the day I used to find out that I have only managed to complete two or three things on my list and still I had a feeling of doing so much work and feeling tired. At the end of day I was not having the satisfaction of completing my work to the fullest extent of my capabilities.

Then I started practicing a simple thing that helped me complete my work, not made me feel too much tired and gave me satisfaction of completing my work. The method is explained as follows:

1. At the beginning of the day make a list of tasks that you need to complete (You can do this listing on a previous night before going to bed). Rate them by their priority and give them ranking from 1 to 3. These are main tasks that you need to finish. The remaining tasks will also be numbered from 4 to 6 but will have less priority.
2. Any other tasks that has not been ranked can be done tomorrow. Don't spend your entire morning trying to make a list. Use a quick list and start working on it. As you get grips with this routine you will be more efficient in picking your tasks.
3. Start your day with the first task and complete it. Keep on taking up a new task only after you have completed the one before.
4. If another task pops up from no-where, make an assessment, whether you need to finish the one that popped up or you can continue on the routine that you had previously set.
5. Make a list of all the new tasks that might pop up while doing your routine task so that you don't forget them.
6. At the end of the day if you have only finished four tasks out of five, carry over the last task to next day and make it your first priority for the next day

Notes:

• There are some tasks that are fit for week ends and so write them down on a separate page
• Use a pocket diary to write your tasks down. This will ensure that you don't loose your record of tasks
• Evaluate this strategy periodically so that you don't fall in a trap of just writing your tasks and not doing them