A quick way to clarify your work priorities

✍️ Today’s tip: Write a to-do list that’s made up entirely of endpoints.

Most people see moving through items on their to-do lists as progress. Made this call. Check. Emailed that potential client. Check. Requested this document. Check. But as Steve Blank explains, it’s easy to mistake motion — the activities that get the ball rolling on certain objectives — with the real goal, which is action.

“By focusing only on motion,” Blank writes, “you let others set the pace and define the outcome.” Slacking someone a question is motion; getting them to confirm the information you need is action. Setting up a team meeting is motion; walking out of that meeting with every piece of a project assigned is action. Instead of getting a false sense of accomplishment in crossing off tasks and waiting for results, focus on the endpoint of what you’re trying to achieve.

📚 More from Forge on prioritizing what matters:

Cap Your To-Do List at Three Things Every Day
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To Get More Done, Work Less
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Move Tasks From Your To-Do List to an ‘I Did’ List
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