How To Create A Useful To Do List
Do you keep a daily list of To Dos? Most people do, me included. And, like most people, my list is fairly higgledy-piggledy at the offset, when I just do a physical download of all the things that are cluttering up my head.
Try holding yourself accountable to yourself. If you had to give yourself a daily, weekly, or monthly report, would you be proud to talk about what you had done, or would you need to be prettying up things, bullshitting, or lying to keep your job?”
― Loren Weisman
My list contains a mix of goal actions, household chores, admin type tasks, self-care and fun activities. It’s probably quite similar to most peoples’ lists.
But where do you go from there? Do you sort or prioritise your list, making sure that you are at least progressing the things that will improve your life in the future, if not immediately?
And how do you know when you’ve had a productive day? Is it just based on the number of tasks you’ve managed to cross off? If that’s it, then you’re very likely feeling a little drained and fed up of the ‘same-old-same-old’ routine of your life.
Moving From Useless to Useful To Do List
I’ve had to wean myself off this kind of to do list. It’s a bit too comfortable and there’s a temptation to feel ok with yourself at the end of the day if you can say you’ve worked through a chunk of your tasks today. I felt like that. But, the strange thing was that I also felt stagnant and unfulfilled.
Yes, I know the laundry needs to get done and having a clean and tidy home gives me a degree of satisfaction, but it never quite hits the same note as when I complete a blog post, or if I’ve worked on a gritty problem with my website and then found the solution.
Those tasks, although time-consuming, potentially frustrating and challenging make me want to tell others what I’ve been up to that day. Telling my husband I am up-to-date with the laundry just isn’t going to get the same positive reaction!
And so I’ve started to sort my list a little differently each day.
Improving My To Do List
I spent some time thinking about what was important to me and where I needed to be putting more of my time and effort. After a little trial and error, I came up with the following categories that seem to fit my day-to-day activities:
1. Learning or improving new skills
2. Working on my business activities
3. Family Finances and Admin
4. Looking after myself
5. Everything else
I can easily start the day with 60+ tasks, a lot of which are not necessarily important, but they contribute to the overall (smooth) running of my life.
On the other hand, of the 60+ tasks, a few of them will have a bigger positive impact on me now and in the future. These are the things that I can often just put off though, because they just haven’t got the same immediate impact that say, not picking up a bottle of milk would have.
Because of this, it’s just soooo easy to de-prioritise these tasks and activities. No one else is going to notice if I don’t do them.
But I will.
Because every day I let pass that doesn’t at least give a nod to the things that fulfil me, leaves me a little emptier. I lose a bit of myself and I become less of the person I know I can be, want to be and should be.
Creating Your Useful To Do List
So how can you make sure that you are working on the things that are important to you, even though they may not have any particular urgency about them?
I’m going to share my system with you. This might sound complicated and longwinded, but bear with me, because it does work!
Here’s the basic outline:
1. Write up your to do list for the week.
2. Mark a letter or number against each task which represents the category (as above) or highlight in a designated colour.
3. For each category, ask yourself the question: If I could only do 3* things today, which ones would make me happier, less stressed or have the biggest impact on my life?
4. Transfer your chosen tasks to a separate sheet.
5. This is your to do list for the day, based on your true priorities
* you can choose the most appropriate number of tasks based on the time you have available.
Using this system will allow you to incorporate important personal or family goals into your daily routine. These are the things that often get left behind in the hubbub of everyday life. But these are the things that make life worth living.
A Few Tips
Finished For Today
I work on the premise that some tasks will take all week (if not longer, if they’re particularly big). For that reason, I specify what my “finished for today” looks like. This is especially important if you have a lot to get through.
For example:
~ If I’m writing a blog post, my “finished for today” will be 700+ words;
~ If I’ve decided to spring clean, I’ll set a timer for an hour (or two) and this will be my “finished for today”;
Doing this enables me to keep the task moving forward at a pretty decent pace whilst also allowing me to progress other important tasks (per my list).
Of course, some tasks will just get completed on the day, which is great, but the technique above works well for large tasks that risk overwhelming you by their size.
Avoiding To Do List Creep
Review your full list at the start of each day to ensure that your chosen tasks are still the most important things you want to be doing.
However, don’t use this review as an excuse to allow more things to creep in. Instead keep a separate ‘Next Week’ list handy and add new tasks to it as they occur to you.
Alternatively, draw a line underneath this week’s list. When a new task comes in, write it under the line so you don’t forget it, but consider it work for next week.
Conclusion
Using a To Do List that helps you focus on your real priorities will really help you move your life in the direction you want to go. It’ll give you a feeling of control because you will be running your day rather than your day running you!
So if you’re feeling a bit underwhelmed by your current goal/important task progress, why not try this method and see if it works for you?!
What to do next…
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