I TRY TO ITEMISE realistic to-do lists and have discovered the Live Tiles on my Lumia 1520 keeps more accountable. The number three in the screenshot from my phone's home screw shows the number of tasks that have to get done.
But my problem is I fail at running into the spike on a daily basis. I am not ruthlessly attacking the things that have to get done in order for me to truly get ahead.
A lot of my current condition stems directly from failing to carve out 20 minute segments of intense activity. I have 20 minute slots during the day when I teach and 20 minute pauses when caring for our three year old son. If my GTD List (the one that opens when I tap the icon with the peaks and valleys and the number) incorporated high priority tasks that would take no more than 20 minutes to finish, I would be much more able to point to real accomplishments.
So as the year winds down, I'm back to examine how to jump start my task lists. This time, I'm using 20 minute sessions that cause me to run at the spike.