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Technology has produced a variety of productivity tools, from task boards to to-do lists, from relational databases to outlines. Yet, rather than give users a sense of accomplishment, they can often instill a sense of being overwhelmed, reminding us what we have left to do. They all seem to be missing a key feature that would help us feel gratified and motivated to do even more: the “got-done” list.

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Even before the pandemic, as both a work-family researcher and life coach, I witnessed how talented professionals can feel that they are falling behind despite working hard. In the beginning, I thought they needed to set better priorities. It soon became clear that they experienced numerous interferences both at the office and at home. In fact, the more reliable and caring they were, the more they were asked to help someone out, especially in “emergencies.” These urgent disruptions wreaked havoc on my clients’ own plans, leaving them to declare “I’ve got nothing done\!” and feel depleted.

I knew they were not alone. My research colleagues at the [Families and Work Ellen Galinsky and Ipshita Pal, and I analyzed data from the Society of Human Resource Management’s 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce. This [representative study of all US indicated that 57 percent report being interrupted often or very often during a typical week, making it very difficult to get their work done.

It was also unsurprising that the digital tools they relied on were far from cheering them up. Their to-do lists remained unchanged, serving as reminders of what they *didn’t* do. Many of their apps archived completed tasks or made them disappear—hiding their achievements. Most importantly, the online calendars, lists, and boards never documented the unscheduled fires they extinguished, like making last-minute corrections for a client presentation or taking the car to the mechanic. Their heroics were never acknowledged.

Learning from their experiences, I developed a simple technique to supplement the digital tools that failed to serve them. The "got-done list" is a running log of accomplishments. Kept alongside a traditional "to-do list," I asked my clients to record the additional things they did, big or small. This alone isn’t a new idea—people [have written [“done” lists for for my clients it yielded great results.

### Why the ‘Got-Done List’ Can Help
Even a small disruption has the potential to impact one’s mood. In his book [*Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness Ethan Kross, professor and director of the [Emotion and Self Control at the University of Michigan, wrote “Your mood is defined not by what you did but by what you thought about.”

In a recent phone conversation, he elaborated: “Zooming in on what you didn’t get to do can cause chatter,” or an escalation of negative thoughts and emotions. In contrast, a got-done list can help you with “perspective broadening.”

“If you can step back to see what you got done, it stands to reason that you wouldn't get stuck focusing on the bad feelings of not having accomplished what you set out to do. It makes sense that you would feel better,” he said.

Moreover, the got-done list continued to help my clients and me during the Covid-19 pandemic because it provided us with “compensatory control.” Kross explained: “Creating a list can help restore a sense of control in a situation that lacks order, as a way of organizing and giving you a sense this is something you can manage.”

In addition to helping us feel more at ease, the got-done list can also help from a motivational standpoint. In an email conversation, [Teresa Baker Foundation professor at Harvard Business School and coauthor of [*The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at outlined two reasons for this. First, a got-done list helps us capture the unanticipated small wins that can spur progress. “It’s at least as important to keep track of things you got done as it is to keep track of things you have to do. Very often, much of the work we get done in a day wasn’t on the to-do list we had at the start of the day, because it involved solving an unexpected problem or dealing with other work that suddenly became more urgent.”

Second, the got-done list helps us deal with the unfinished to-do list so we can move forward. “Keeping a daily log of what we actually got done, even if it was just a series of unexpected small wins, can soothe our frustration at not having conquered the whole to-do list and boost our motivation for work the next day.”

Finally, my clients and I also find the got-done list helpful because we can identify what can break their focus or attention. In those situations, we brainstorm ways to prevent such an interruption from happening again. For example, one client learned that she needed to keep her office door closed in the morning to get important things done so that colleagues wouldn’t pass by and disturb her with casual greetings.

### How to Start a ‘Got-Done List’
**Step 1:** Each morning, think of just one important thing you must do that day.

**Step 2:** Look at your calendar. Note what you have scheduled and figure out when you can complete that most important task.

**Step 3:** Identify and note other things you need to achieve, but keep your to-do short and reasonable.

**Step 4:** As you go about your day, tick off your assignments as you complete them. If you find yourself doing things you did not schedule, write them down and then check them off.

**Step 5:** Every evening, take a moment to add in anything you missed. Relish your small wins.

It is natural to feel exhausted from everything going on around us, on top of the regular work and personal responsibilities you’re likely to have. So much still feels unfinished and therefore unsatisfying. Supplementing our digital tools and keeping track of our small wins and unexpected accomplishments can give us some relief and inspire us to keep going.

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