On Backlogs

I hate my Things backlog. It’s all the tasks I captured that I may or may not ever act on. They accumulate unbounded, each one fragmenting my ability to focus. I cannot push them out of sight, out of mind. My brain just doesn’t work that way. I lose momentum because I’m dragging the weight of all my ephemeral ideas that didn’t float away. Entropy has failed me.

I’m this close to declaring bankruptcy on my personal backlog. Or at least acknowledging a bumper crop of tasks has already died from neglect. The resistance to deleting is the lingering remnant of a scarcity mindset. A belief that ideas are rare and difficult to come by. They’re not. Execution and focus is the hard part. Holding onto too many small ideas prevents the action of starting on the one that matters now.

Anything that truly needs to get done will bounce back and it will have a deadline. If not externally imposed, make one up. Projects, lists, and tags can grow without restraint. It’s the finite resources of time, attention, and affinity that must act as the forcing function.

I want to build a metabolic workspace. Things flow in, flow out, and then it’s time for lunch. If there’s any accumulation, it’s in the knowledge and experience gained. I’m no longer interested in growing stocks of shoulds and oughts.

Baggage Accumulating
Coherence Killed
Liabilities Only Grow