“Done Today”

This week I added a new “view” inside my Airtable base I use for managing all my to-dos and projects.

This view just has just one simple function — but it's already proven to be extremely valuable (at least to my mental health).

Speaking with tons of freelancers and agency owners, I've noticed that it's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by how busy you are while simultaneously not feeling like you're making any progress.

I've been feeling that way lately… It's seems like every time I'm able to cross something off my to-do list, there are 2, 3, or 10 things there that jump in and take its place.

It's really easy to focus on the negative and stressful things (the to-do list getting longer) and ignore your accomplishments (how much you've gotten done).

And honestly, project management systems are inherently structured this way… You spend your day looking at things that need to get done while everything you accomplish simply vanishes.

It's discouraging to feel like you're not making progress… but the new Airtable view I setup helps me see things a different way.

It's not the kind of “productivity hack” that will help you get more
done in less time — but it has been amazing for keeping up morale.

It's a view called “Done Today”.

Essentially, all it does is pull together a list of all the tasks that I've moved to “completed”, “proofing”, or “waiting on client” today.

On the days where I feel like I didn't get anything done, I can pop open this view and see evidence that's not true.

I'm not changing the data by creating my “done today” view, I'm giving myself an opportunity to see the data from another angle.

It's easy to not see the forest for the trees — and it happens to all of us. When you get in that place it's great to have an “escape plan” to help you gain a different perspective.

Even if it's as simple as seeing a list of “done” instead of just “to do”.