Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.

You hope to do several things every day. At the end of each day, most of them are not done. You may make a to-do list but discover in a short while that it is not helping you much. Tasks keep adding to it. In a few weeks, it starts looking like a list of things you will never do and you feel stressed about it. Making a to-do list is not enough. It is useful only when you understand the key aspects of it and work on it further. To begin with, recognise that a to-do list is only a pool of tasks. It is just a raw collection that tells you nothing about how you will get to it. To make it useful you have to define the ‘when’. When you begin creating a schedule, your focus shifts to how long you have to work on each task to complete it. This way you are forced to be realistic about your goals. Since you cannot complete all tasks on the same day, you need to prioritise. Rank the tasks in order of importance. Now, start working according to the schedule paying close attention to how you are spending the day. Another way to prioritise tasks is based on the creative energy they require. Separate the tasks into creative and boring ones. This approach helps you to stay productive even during cheerless parts of the day.