If you’ve been following the OG Millennial Newsletter for a while, then you probably already know this, but in case you haven’t I’ll share it again.  Us OG Millennials, we’re big on productivity. Planning, to-do lists, routines, systems, things that increase efficiency, we love it all. Also, efficiency isn’t just a buzzword around here; it’s a lifestyle. As OG Millennials, we’re not just trying to stay busy, we don’t just want to have things to do for the sake of having things to do, we’re trying to move forward. We believe in maximizing our time, our energy, and our efforts. We want progress, not just motion.

This week, I found a new (but not-so-new) trick that makes all of that even easier.

Let’s set the stage.

You’ve got a list of things to do, maybe it’s written down, maybe it’s just floating in your head. It could be for the day, the week, whatever. It’s your mental (or physical) checklist of things you know you need to get done.

Now go down that list and identify one thing:

Which task feels the most daunting?
The one you keep putting off.
The one that drains you just thinking about it.
The one that always gets shuffled to the bottom of the list.

Yep, that one. That’s the one you need to do first.

What I realized this week, something I think I’ve always known deep down, but it finally clicked this week, is that doing the hardest thing first flips a subconscious switch in our minds. Once it’s done, everything else on your list feels lighter, easier, more doable.

It’s like your brain says,
“Well, the hardest part is over.”

That one hard task you were dreading? When you knock it out first thing in the morning, it sets a powerful tone for the rest of the day. The rest of your list doesn’t feel so intimidating. You build momentum early. You move through the rest of your day with confidence and clarity.  For me you can even say added enthusiasm.

It’s a simple shift with serious impact.

Let’s say it’s the night before, and you’ve laid out your to-do list for tomorrow. It includes errands, calls, emails, follow-ups, and tasks you’ve been putting off for weeks. Scan that list. What’s the thing you least want to do?

That’s the one.

When you wake up tomorrow, do that thing first.

Then just watch how the rest of your day unfolds.

Doing the hardest thing first isn’t just a productivity hack, it’s a mindset shift. It’s about proving to yourself, right out the gate, that you can handle hard things. You show yourself that difficult things don’t deter you, they actually get you going.  Once you’ve done that, everything else feels like just another step forward.

We’re not here to coast.
We’re here to grow.
To challenge ourselves.
To keep pushing.
And sometimes, that means leaning into the hard things, on purpose.

Try it tomorrow.
Do the hardest thing first.
Then go be great.