My only mental categories for tasks

The Disorganized Life

Not so many years ago, I could reliably measure my mental health by checking in with my hair length. 

When stress increased, personal organization fell apart. I would procrastinate on small tasks so that I could invest more time procrastinating on large tasks; haircuts always dropped off the list first. 

I never planned for low-frequency events such as haircuts. Failing to get a walk-in appointment on work days, I would tell myself I’m too busy to go anyway. Then weeks would slip by. Inevitably, medium-hold hair-product would prove unequal to the task of containing my hair, and my hair would creep down my forehead into my line of sight in a not-so-subtle metaphor about unraveling.

Once I realized I already had and desperately needed to take ownership over my life, I wanted to get better at the little tasks that often lingered on my to-do lists. I read everything I could on productivity, habit-forming, the Pomodoro technique, the “touch it once” rule, and time-management, desperate for a secret pill to fix my life.

While many of these techniques have merit, I noticed the main focus involved more efficiently executing tasks, but often left out the crucial first step of any activity: starting it. Digging into the cause of initial procrastination, I discovered a subconscious but powerful mental categorization for tasks: Now, Scheduled, and Later.

The Three Buckets

Now

Tasks in the “Now” bucket are in the current focus. I’ve committed in my mind to working on these, and when possible I work to complete these without interruption. Ideally, all necessary tasks end up in this bucket eventually, some more immediately, like exemplified in the “touch-it-once” philosophy.

Scheduled

“Scheduled” tasks have a mental deadline attached. This may be externally imposed by work or social obligations, or it may be more of a general timeline like vacuuming before the weekend. 

Later

The largest and most destructive category is the ambiguous “Later.” This holds all tasks that I have not committed to doing. Bring in a pile of mail to sort? I’ll get to that “Later.” Walk past that pile of mail 2 days later? The 3-year-old part of my brain quietly (and often successfully) insists, “It’s not ‘later’ yet.”

The Choice

Categorizing tasks into these buckets is usually subconscious, but it has dramatic consequences for available mental energy. “Now” tasks are dealt with quickly and free up mental space. “Scheduled” tasks do not require continual reminders as they have been scheduled which requires minimal mental energy. “Later” tasks, however, can lag for weeks or more until intentionally committed to another bucket. These eat up mental cycles of to-do worries at 4AM.

Learning to deliberately categorize tasks is a game changer. Moving tasks through the buckets, I have reduced the mental burden of carrying a vague list of to-dos and slowly checked off the accrued backlog. Opening that mental space has allowed for greater creativity, efficiency, and even deeper relaxation.

It’s a practice, and one I have not perfected, but working to maintain awareness and diligently place new tasks in “Now” or “Scheduled” buckets has illuminated just how much time exists in a day. 

There’s a lot more Now than I knew.