Conundrum Alert: My "To Do" list is getting in the way of my "To Do" list.

Or, what to do when your to dos are getting in the way of what to do

The theme of today's blog post is prioritization.  As all four of my loyal readers know, I have a personal trainer. One motto of my personal trainer is that we should address our needs before our wants.  Sounds simple enough, I concluded upon hearing this sage piece of advice.  For example: I "need" to drink 70-100 oz of water each day, therefore, before I take a sip of coffee in the morning, I first swallow two Dixie cup shots of agua.  Case in point, I have addressed a need before a want.

Now, enter real life stage left.  Real life is messy and tends to blur what you need to do, with what you want to do.  If your life doesn't do this, please let me know what meds you're taking because I want some.  Before I start my work day (any day really), I try to figure out what I need to do and what I'd like to do.

What I needed to do today was:

A. Write a reference letter for a couple friend of ours who are adopting a baby
B. Finalize travel arrangements to go to Bouchercon
C. Invite people to my house on Sunday to go apple picking
D. Write a novel
E. Go to the dentist
F. Exercise
G. Figure out how to market a novel (see D above: "Write a novel")

By the time I piddled away a good chunk of the day on my list, I had hope that some of the items would morph into a want and by the very definition, would drop off my "To Do" list.  Sadly, that was not be.   I needed to do it all.

Enter paralyzing, overwhelming feeling stage right.

Once I got over my initial analysis paralysis, I managed to accomplish much of A-G today, with the  notable exception of D, for which I wrote nary a word.  As for G, "Figure out how to market a novel", I have a good list of stuff to consider, which in itself has given rise to a new "To Do" list.  Such a phenomenon I like to call a "Nested To Do List", as one item in the original "To Do" list has wrought another entirely different "To Do" list.  I have come to the conclusion that I am plagued by these "Nested To Do Lists", as though I haplessly continue to bring home pregnant guppies to add to my already overstocked aquarium.

So what's a fella to do?  I guess come morning I'll make a new "To Do" list.  Tell me, how do you prioritize your life and keep track of all the stuff you have to do?  Inquiring minds want to know.