Are you a to-do list person? I definitely am! I find they really keep me moving forward on my goals as well as give me a sense of control (I’m not saying I’m a complete control freak but…). They also create a sense of order which, as an organizer, is like my holy grail. Below are the tips that I employ for successfully using daily to-do lists for my personal and work life. Hopefully they help you as well.
Create Realistic Activities
Since I use a daily to-do list, each task must be actionable within a single day. After all, the whole goal of the list is to accomplish and check-off the tasks. When working on large projects, I break the end goal into manageable pieces and make those my to-do tasks. For example, I’m currently working on building out my website. Instead of having a task like ‘revamp website’ (which believe me, can’t be done in a day), I will have a task like ‘create target client profile’ one day and ‘research and schedule calls with developers’ one day. If you are working on tasks but never completing them by the end of the day, then your tasks are too large and need to be broken down into smaller components. Working on something and not getting to ‘check it off’ can be demoralizing, and no one needs that!
Identify the Non-Negotiable Items
Your list should always include the top two or three things that really need to get done for the day (I, personally, star these items as I tend to write my list by stream of consciousness and not priority). Once you have your top items identified, prioritize doing those tasks first. Life happens and ‘stuff’ always pops up during the day, so identifying and tackling the highest priority items first ensures the most critical tasks get completed. I don’t know about you, but I tend to procrastinate on the tasks I don’t love doing or that I think will be ‘hard’. Giving priority to these tasks ensures I get them done. In addition, if there are tasks I did deem ‘hard’, I’m pretty damn proud of myself for completing them which gives me a mental boost to tackle the rest of the list.
Craft Your List the Night Before
Now, I know this is going to be controversial in some circles, but this is what works best for me. After I get into bed at the end of the day, I take my old school notepad and pen and write my to-do list for the next day (yes, I keep it next to my bed and sometimes take pictures of it if I’m going to be out of the house most of the day). Before making my list this way, I found myself having a tough time getting to sleep. My head would be racing with all the things I needed to do the next day. The act of physically writing down tasks allows me to release any anxiety around getting these items done, and helps to shut down my brain which allows me to fall asleep easier.
Now, there is a whole school of thought that says you should write your to-do list in the morning. Since some days you might feel super energetic and others not so much, this approach allows you to base your list on your energy level of the day. Personally, I’m not a morning person. If left to write my list in the morning, I might never have more than a couple tasks on the list. Having my list ready for me in the morning helps motivate me to get out of bed and tackle the tasks of the day. Play with both methods and see which works best for you. The effectiveness of the list and it’s ability to help you organize and prioritize your day is more important than when it’s created.
If you use to-do lists, do you do anything else that really helps you? I’m always open to hearing what works for others and trying it out. Let me know in the comments!
As always, I hope you found this post interesting, informative, inspiring, or entertaining (I’ll take any one as a success). If so, please let me know in the comments section. Also let me know if there is anything you’d like to see on this blog by writing me at feedback@theorganizingblonde.com.
XOXO,
The Organizing Blonde
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