Due vs Do
When you assign tasks for yourself, do you give yourself a "Do" date or a "Due" date? What's the difference?
A "Do" date is the date you have decided to focus on the task and a "Due" date is the date it needs to be completed by.
Due dates can give a sense of urgency for when the task needs to be done, but not necessarily a timeframe for when you're going to actually ... do the task.
And, depending on your task management system, traditional "Due" dates can cause tasks to fall out of view until that date approaches. Until then it just lingers in your brain with everything else you need to... do. Or is lost to the task list and suddenly becomes an urgent task to complete on top of everything else that day.
"Do" dates, on the other hand, can give you a set timeframe for working on the task. They can help set you up for success by making you pause to think: when will I do this task?
- Do I need a week before its "Due" date? Do I need two?
- Is there a day where I can "Do" this task with others and batch my efforts?
When you set a "Do" date, you give your future self permission to focus only on what you said you were going to "Do." All other tasks have a lower priority that day. (Of course, shit happens, but this is the goal we are working towards!)
Setting a "Do" date also builds the muscle of judging one's time: you'll begin to see how long tasks actually take you to complete and how much of a sense of urgency you need to tackle them.
So next time you set a task for yourself, consider: when is this task "Due" and when will I set aside the time to "Do" it?