Study 60% of people cant finish everything on their to-do list

Study 60% of people cant finish everything on their to-do listStudy 60% of people cant finish everything on their to-do listWhat does your to-do list look like? Does the very idea fill you with terror?To-do lists are touted as a simple, easy method of helping people stay on task. When you take on too much, however, they spiral out of control and become objects of doom.VitalSmarts, a leadership training company released findings from a study of more than 1,300 people showed that 3 in 5, or 60%, of people are overcommitted, with more on their to-do list than they can possibly finish. An additional 1 in 5 say theyre at the point where they simply cannot take on any more.Just how overcommitted are we?60% of respondents said they have more than 60 tasks on their weekly to-do list (including both personal and work tasks)15% said they have more than 100 tasksWhen people were asked if they had more tasks than they could actually get done, 23% said that was true about half the time, and 37% a nswered usually. A very stressed 32% answered always.How did we end up here?Taking on all these tasks comes from a good place. 73% of people said their to-do lists were out of control because they wanted to be helpful and generous to others, not to mention polite. 53% were problem-solvers, even if they were solving problems that werent necessarily theirs.It also comes from being badeanstalt with boundaries.39% cited unclear boundaries and limits over what commitments they should and shouldnt accept, and 32% said they just werent able to say No.Of course overcommitting yourself for whatever reason comes with side effects, regret, and feelings of overwhelm. 50%of people asked said they were moderately stressed, with 35% highly stressed. Over half of respondents (52%) worried about letting themselves or others down, and 46% felt overwhelmed.How to move forwardThere are a small number of self-management practices that can literally change a persons life by dramatically improving perform ance while also reducing stress, andJustin Hale, co-creator of Getting Things Done Training, in a release. Hale is one of the studys lead researchers. When you learn to manage your workload quickly and efficiently, youll not only take control of your to-do list but also avoid the weight and anxiety that comes with carrying an impossible workload.Hale suggests keeping your to-dos in an app or on a piece of paper not in your head. Then, do a commitment audit this may mean bowing out of some commitments, or re-negotiating others. Next, break large, vague projects into a set of smaller, doable actions even the tiniest action is one step further to your goal. Review your progress weekly never skip this check-in meeting with yourself.Incrementally, you can create hope out of chaos.