1. Focusing on doing what only you can do. 2. Letting go of the rest (but only to people you’d trust with your own reputation ...

If you’ve ever glared at your to-do list and thought, “I don’t care anymore,” you’re not alone. When you’re burnt out, bored, or exhausted, even the simplest tasks may seem monumental.

This helps you stop tweaking and start moving forward. To take this further, think of each task as "finished for now"—not forever. Once you’ve done your best within the set time, let it go.

Three new books discuss why accomplishing things has become so difficult: Why Nothing Works, by Marc J. Dunkelman; Stuck, by Yoni Appelbaum; and Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.

I am extremely forgetful, so for years I’ve used various reminder and to-do apps to try and make sure things don’t slip through the cracks. For years though, Todoist has been my go-to brain dump.

Musk said the agency’s major difference was that it was actually “getting things done.” “It’s software people, information security, software people, and finance.