There are three reasons we don’t get things done:

• We haven’t identified what “done” means. Getting in the habit of clarifying the outcome of a task or a project is key. That’s why we included that in our vision plans - we want to know what done looks like.
• We don’t know what to do next. Getting clarity on the next physical action you need to take is the master key here. If you have something written down like “mom’s birthday” or “write book”, your brain likely seizes up. You need to ask yourself what the next thing is that you could do to move it forward.
• We haven’t put those next actions into a system that our brain trusts we will review regularly. You probably aren’t thinking about that meeting you have next week with your boss. Because you know you’re going to be reminded about it at the appropriate time - it’s parked in your calendar, and your brain knows you review your calendar regularly. Your brain trusts your calendar as the final word on any time-based commitments you have. You want to have the same trust in the rest of your system.

Your task management system is the solution. It doesn’t have to be complex, and it doesn’t have to be digital. What it does have to be is:

• Comprehensive - it’s not enough to have a subset of your tasks in there. You need to capture all of it. Your brain won’t let go unless it knows it can trust your system.
• Pleasant - you won’t stick with a tool that you don’t enjoy using.

I use Things. But the tool doesn’t matter.

Outcome thinking

You’ve already done a fair amount of outcome thinking as we’ve worked on our visions together. When you created your 1 and 3 year plans, you hopefully defined what “done” meant.

You can do the same in many other areas of your life. And once you get in the habit you create clarity for yourself and the people around you.

Outcome thinking gives clarity and direction.

Think about the next meeting on your calendar. Does that meeting have a clearly defined objective? Odds are it doesn’t. Not really.

Imagine a world where every meeting invite you send includes a purpose for the meeting and desired end state. Imagine if every project that kicked off in your organization had a clearly defined vision of what “done” looked like? Imagine if everyone in your organization did the same thing?

Outcome thinking allows you to dream.

The outcome you visualize determines to a large extent the end state. So it’s the perfect time to not just ask what “done” looks like, but what “amazing” looks like.

I don’t believe you accidentally create amazing products, amazing services, amazing experiences. I believe you design them. And this starts with creating a picture of what amazing means.

As you define the projects in your life and work, take a minute to visualize the outcome. And ask yourself what amazing would look like.