A few days ago, I woke up and groaned at the day’s tasks.

I needed to:

• Write a blog post
• Tutor two students
• Finish my daily 600 Anki cards
• Attend a two-hour class
• Meet a friend for OSCE practice

…and still cook, read, be present for my relationships and exercise like a normal person.

It’s like I woke up with a “productivity debt” to be paid, and it felt terrible.

But then, I thought of this idea I recently came across called the done list, and it changed everything.

The idea is that instead of beginning the day with a debt to be paid, you wake up with absolutely nothing on your plate. Then, every activity that you do gets added to a done list, and the more stuff you do, the more that gets added.

Suddenly, I was faced with the reminder that instead of spending the day having done nothing constructive, look what I had done instead! Making the bed and brushing one’s teeth is nothing to scoff at. And instead of rushing to the next item, after I completed a task I felt a mild jab of contentment at having done something at all. This ultimately led to a positive feedback loop, and by the end of the day, all the tasks ended up being completed.

The done list also helped me realise that fully paying off one’s productivity debt is straight up impossible. There is always more that can be done, whether that be Anki cards, lectures, exercise or sleep. The more sustainable thing is that at the end of the day, we are content with the day’s tasks.

Sometimes, all it takes is just a different perspective.