By wearing hats, I mean acting out roles that people have in their daily life, like husband, breadwinner, or homemaker. Yesterday I tried prefixing a role to the todo list item I didn’t want to do. Compare:

  1. File a health insurance claim.
  2. Breadwinner - file a health insurance claim.

The 2nd version clearly states the role, and it’s immediately clear that the purpose of the item is to earn money. In this way, it immediately gains a lot of importance.

I got the idea from the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.