My friend tells me that she chooses one day of the week and spends 6 to 10 hours on all her least favorite, most annoying tasks. On that one day, she accomplishes everything she must do but does not want to do. Because she devotes this one day to these undesirable tasks, it frees her mind for the rest of her work week.
Otherwise, these tasks clutter her to-do list all week long. They tyrannize! They demand!
I nod my head in agreement because that's the only way I have peace of mind about my housecleaning. I only clean on Saturday mornings because that way, for the rest of the week, I'm not worried about it. If the bathroom is dirty on Wednesday, I don't think about it; that's Saturday's task. If the floor needs scrubbing on Thursday, I don't let it nag at my soul. That's for Saturday morning.
More and more, I'm meeting successful and organized people who compartmentalize their weeks. With this kind of organized mind, I can only worry about my manuscripts, for example, on Tuesday and Thursday and my grading and course preparation on Monday and Wednesday.
I'm thinking more and more about freeing up the mental space to work better and more enjoyably. Designating days for certain tasks means I'm not controlled by their perceived urgency. I push it aside and out of my brain; this task is for another day.
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