Productivity tips from ‘Game of Thrones’
5 lessons from Arya Stark’s kill-list
If you have not watched or read Game of Thrones yet, I recommend you do it before reading this story or be prepared to get spoilt. It is an amazing story written by George R. R. Martin that kept me hooked on to the TV screen for years.
Among many fascinating plots, Game of Thrones brought out probably the most (in)famous to-do list in the world through the character, Arya Stark!
In Season 2, Arya was on the road North with Yoren, who had rescued her from King’s Landing after the beheading of her father, Ned Stark. Inspired by the story told by Yoren about how he used to repeat the names of his brother’s killers every night before bed, Arya started to do the same. And that was the birth of the most famous to-do list in the world.
Here is the to-do list of Arya Stark and how successful or unsuccessful she was:
- Kill Joffrey — Killed, but not by Arya
2. Kill Ceresi - Dead. We can call it a natural death
3. Kill Walder Frey - Killed by Arya
4. Kill Meryn Trant — Killed by Arya
5. Kill Tywin Lannister - Killed, but not by Arya
6. Kill The Red Woman - Eventually backed off from the list by Arya before her natural death
7. Kill Beric Dondarion — Removed from the list, but anyway ended up getting killed by Whites
8. Kill Thoros Of Myr — Killed but not by Arya (Probably would have removed from the list as well)
9. Kill Illyan Paine - The actor had to leave the show due to health issues
10. Kill The Mountain — Killed, but not by Arya
Now that is a pretty sweet track record!
Okay, now to the lessons!
Lesson number 1: Delegate
Arya managed to check off some items in her to-do list by herself but relied on others to get some of them done for her. One good example is The Hound killing The Mountain. Probably, The Hound was more suited for the job than Arya trying to do it herself.
This tells us that we do not have to do things ourselves all the time. Delegate things! Probably you can delegate the work that is not so important but urgent. By delegating these tasks, you can spend more time on the things that matter the most.
Lesson number 2: Ignore
Arya’s kill list had been evolving. A task that was super important to you once can eventually become a task that you can ignore. The Red Woman and Beric Dondarion getting removed from Arya’s kill-list shows exactly that.
Priorities change! If it is something that is not important and not urgent, it’s probably the best that you ignore it for now and park it until it becomes either important or urgent again.
Lesson number 3: Invest
Killing Walder Frey required Arya to practice and train for a very long time. She had to invest herself in it physically and emotionally. You have to do the same if you need to get the most important things done!
Prioritize the tasks and focus on what is most important to you even if they are not very urgent. It can be about learning a new skill, preparing to find a better job, or anything that is super important to you.
Lesson number 4: Do Now
But Arya’s biggest achievement was not even on her list! Killing The Night King and the entire race of White Walkers!
There are things that come up which can be super important and extremely urgent! Don’t think too much about planning these. Consider these as the tasks that you should be doing right now. Think on your feet! Kill the Night King!
But most importantly, do not treat all the tasks as super important and urgent, otherwise, you will burn out and end up getting killed by the Night King. Keep the ‘Do Now’ list of tasks short and simple!
Lesson number 5: Visualize
Keep remembering and recalling the tasks you have to do. This is why Arya repeats and recalls the kill-list every night before she goes to sleep. As the list gets shorter, the satisfaction increases and she gets more motivated to try harder.
Arya kept the list in her head. But unlike Arya, most of us have books, mobile phones, or whiteboards. Use those to visualize the tasks that we need to get done. Use a to-do list! Refer to it every morning and evening to see how you are progressing. Go to sleep feeling satisfied and also motivated!
Bonus lesson: How to manage your to-do list
When picking your way of maintaining a to-do list, there are several things to consider:
- Flexibility — As priorities change, you want to adjust your to-do list accordingly. Pen and paper might not be so great in this aspect.
- Portability — As you move from home to office or even when working from home, you will want to carry your to-do list with you. That is why the use of post its and whiteboards might not be practical even though I love them.
- Simplicity — No matter how good a list looks or how sophisticated the list is, if managing your to-do list becomes a cumbersome experience, you will soon give up on to-do lists.
- Clear Visualization — The ability to visualize the Urgency and Importance of tasks at a glance is very critical.
Considering these aspects, what I can recommend as a good and simple way of maintaining a to-do list is to use an app. There are thousands of to-do lists mobile and web apps out there waiting to sneak into your phone or browser but you have to be really careful to pick the best one for you.
