I read something today that said that the key to getting the things on your to do list done was to also list the reason why you needed to do it.

When you first think about it, that sounds like a good idea.

But I’ve been thinking about this most of the day, and the more I think, the more I think it’s not such a great idea.

First of all, it’s more writing. It’s bad enough looking at the length of my to do list without all that extra stuff on it.

Secondly, our to do’s generally fall into one of three categories: stuff you have to do even if you don’t want to, stuff you want to do, and stuff you don’t want to do.

You may not enjoy paying the bills, but you have to do it so you do. Maybe, like me, you hate mopping floors. You may put it off for a week, but you know you’ll end up doing it anyway.

If going to the gym or going to the salon is something that you enjoy, you’ll have no trouble crossing those to do’s off your list.

And if you absolutely hate doing something or just don’t want to, chances are you won’t. You’d have to come up with a really good reason why in order to do it.

Yep, writing down the reasons why you need to do things sounded great, but for me, it’s just not going to work.

Don’t you wish you could buy motivation?