Life Debt

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Tech Debt is a commonly used term in the IT world to describe the accumulation of small things that need fixing that can accumulate over time and bring down the whole software system. Life Debt is like the Tech Debt of your life.

Small unfinished tasks, those things that cause you discomfort or spoil your mood, little things on your mind occupying mental space that can be better filled with more useful things. Even if you're the kind of person that follows GTD religiously with robust task lists for everything, hundreds of small tasks on your list can still be a lot of mental weight.

Paying Life Debt

A stitch in time saves nine

Since prevention is better than cure, the best way to avoid life debt is through maintenance. The thing about maintenance is that it's not glamorous or adventurous. it might even be undesirable. It is still worth doing it, since the costs of not doing it can be great over the long-term. We have experience with unmaintained vehicles breaking down. Investment in maintenance can prevent catastrophic engine failures in the future.

Do you have 2 minutes?

A great principle to adapt from GTD is the 2-minute-rule. If a task just takes 2 minutes of your time, it is not worth putting it on your task list and certainly not worth holding it in your mind. Just do it now.

It might not always be possible to develop the discipline to continuously do all 2-minute tasks that life throws at you. Hence, regular maintenance windows are required. Try a streak of 2-minute tasks chained one after another for a longer duration till your energy lasts. This can help clear piled up life debt. Burn through a lot of small but nagging tasks on your list using this approach.