How you use your to-do list is important, because it can mean the difference between great productivity or getting even less done.
If you use it well and prioritize what’s important, you can get more done than you would otherwise.
However, if done wrong, it can lead to the trap of being busy but not accomplishing anything important.
In this article, we’ll cover how a to-do list can harm you and 15 tips for making your list effective.
How Your To-Do List Hinder Your Success
So how can your to-do list (or how you manage your to-do list) hurt you?
1. It’s not focused on your priorities.
In your job, you were hired to accomplish certain tasks, and at home, you have certain priorities that are more important than others. If your task and its order aren’t focused on what is important (or you don’t even know), then you will waste a lot of time doing what isn’t important.
2. You just use it for dopamine burst.
It can feel good to cross something off your list. Some people even add items they are doing just so they can cross it off!
However, if you aren’t careful, you can start adding unnecessary items to your list, and your focus can become the dopamine hits you get from crossing things out rather than actually doing what’s important.
3. You overwhelm yourself and become unmotivated
If you are like me, you may have a lot of things that need to be done.
If you aren’t careful, that giant list can be overwhelming, and you may not do anything or give up after a few tasks.
So, what should you do differently?
First, it’s important to point out that there is no one “right” way to do it. Successful people manage their time in different ways.
Some use paper, digital formats, online programs, or apps. Others use their calendars for task scheduling. Some use a mix of them in different ways.
You need to find a system that works for you. Whichever you choose, here are 15 tips that will guide you in creating an effective to-do list.
1. Know what is important
One of the main reasons your to-do list may be ineffective is that you aren’t doing what is important.
As mentioned earlier, you were hired to accomplish something in your job. Everyone has tasks and responsibilities that are most important in their positions. You must know what those are, and if you don’t, to find out.
If you don’t, then it doesn’t matter how you organize or do your list, it will not be effective.
It’s similar with managing your list at home. You need to take time to figure out what’s important so that you can prioritize the most important.
It can be easy to fall into the trap of doing “things that need to get done” rather than doing what truly is most important to us (for example, it could be easy to focus on keeping things clean rather than spending time with those we love).
We’ll go over ways to prioritize your list later on.
Also Read: 3 Ways to Improve Work Performance
2. Prioritize your tasks
When deciding what tasks you want to do, you need to prioritize the important. You know what’s important, so now make sure those are the first things on your list.
Ideally you do this when you plan (see below). However, even if you weren’t able to plan for your day, it’s essential to stop and look at the work in front of you, look at the big picture and goals you may have, and ask:
- What is the most important for me to get done?
- What will drive the most results?
- What must be done today (that is important)?
And then focus on those.
Quick note: These first two tips are really the keys to being productive, whether you use a to-do list or not. If you can know for sure what’s important and then do what’s important, then you will be productive. If you miss either of these, as simple as they seem, you will limit the results you can get.
Also Read: The Importance of Time Management
3. Plan Ahead
It’s harder to figure out what to do (that’s important) in the spur of the moment.
If you don’t plan ahead and try to figure things out as you go, you can easily get trapped in doing the things that are urgent and seem important (even though they may not be), doing things that are easier, or just doing things you like.
When you get to your desk in the morning, instead of starting straight on your most important task, you may sit around trying to figure out it, maybe check your email, maybe get a second cup of coffee, or have a quick chat about the game with Joe.
When you plan ahead, you can look at the big picture and figure out what’s important. Then, during the day as you go, you can just follow your list (or calendar) and make sure what you are doing gets results.
When you reach your desk, you can jump right onto your tasks because you know what’s important—and what’s not.
If you can, plan the afternoon or evening beforehand. Look at the big picture and write out what is most important, your most important tasks. List 3-5.
You can add other things you can get done if there is time, or little things you can do between breaks and such, but make sure you list out the most important for sure.
It can even be effective to plan the week ahead (or even month!). You may not know every task you need to do, but you may know generally what has to be accomplished, and you can plan around that.
4. Choose your method
The method you use to track your priorities and tasks that you need to do are up to you.
Some swear by to-do lists. Some write out five tasks and just focus on that. Others have digital planners of sorts (or use apps like Trello).
Some do multi-lists splitting things out. Some use a calendar and plan blocks of time. Some do a mix of a calendar and a to-do list.
Experiment and find what works best for you. However, whether you use a calendar or not, it is wise to schedule blocks of time to work on certain tasks.
5. Use A Master List – Then Pull From it
One method you can use is the master list. With this, you create a list with all your tasks that you can think of. You write down everything, no matter what it is.
You won’t necessarily work from this list, but it is wise to write everything down somewhere so it doesn’t hang over you in your head or get forgotten.
When making your weekly or daily list (or plugging in your calendar), you can pull from this list what you need to get done for the next day or week. You can even categorize the list if you want, but if you go too crazy with it, finding which list you should put that specific task on can become a burden.
6. Be careful how you respond to what you get done
It’s good to dream and think big. It’s good to stretch yourself.
But be careful about being overly unrealistic about what you can accomplish and then getting upset with yourself when you don’t.
If you want to try to accomplish a large amount and stretch yourself, that’s okay. Just don’t beat yourself up for not getting to it all. Instead, praise yourself for the progress you made.
That’s one of the benefits of prioritizing: even if you don’t get to everything, you still accomplished what was most important.
7. Chunk your tasks
When planning and doing your tasks, it’s wise to chunk them.
Chunking is where you put all similar tasks together. For example, if you are going to read your physical mail, you read all the mail at one time instead of random times throughout the day. Or instead of editing reports at random times, you pick one time to do all the editing.
This allows you to concentrate on a single task and avoid jumping from one task to another and wasting time.
Set a time to call prospects, check emails, complete reports, or whatever it may be, and then do all of it together.
8. Use the Eisenhower matrix/Covey square
One tool that can help you prioritize tasks is what I’ve always called the Covey square from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but it’s often called the Eisenhower matrix.
When you look at your tasks, you categorize them between four quadrants: Urgent and Important, Not Urgent and Important, Urgent and Not Important, and Not Urgent and Not Important.
Your goal is to focus on Quadrant II (Not Urgent and Important); the more you do that, the less Urgent and Important you will have.
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Quadrant III is tricky because it seems important because it’s urgent, even when it’s not.
You want to avoid Quadrant III and IV.
9. Don’t be afraid to delegate, delay or drop things
Just because the task is there doesn’t mean you have to do it (or that it has to be done at all).
Look at the matrix above. If its not important, why do it at all?
If it has to be done but is not important to you in your job, is it important to someone else? Can you delegate it to someone else?
If it’s not important right now compared to other things, can it be delayed?
Can you just delete the task with no consequence?
10. Set deadlines for your tasks
Setting deadlines for your tasks can help you get them done faster.
Often, the time we use fills the time we have available, so if you set a self-imposed deadline that pushes you, you may surprise yourself how fast you can get it done.
11. Share your to-do list or make it visible
If you need help focusing on what’s important, consider sharing your list or what you are trying to do.
You can ask others to hold you accountable when they see you to make sure you are doing what’s important.
You could even post what you are working up where others can see it, for similar benefits.
12. Monitor your progress
As you go along your day – ask yourself: “What quadrant am I in?” or “Am I doing what is most important?”
Take a moment to reflect on your progress at the end of each day, week, or even in the middle of the day.
This will help you to see the big picture, what tasks you are making headway on, and what tasks might need to be prioritized in the future.
If you constantly find yourself in the 3rd and 4th quadrants, you know you need to make adjustments.
13. Do your most important tasks first (Not your easy ones)
If you do your most important tasks (MITs) first, rather than your easy ones, you will get much more done.
Even if your day goes crazy, by focusing on what’s important first, you’ve accomplished something either way.
In his book Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy discusses the importance of doing the most important, hardest task first—eating that frog.
He says if you eat the frog first, everything else seems easier. Waiting to do it doesn’t make it any easier; it only makes it worse. You may begin dreading the task as your day goes by, and it worsens.
There’s different ways you can do it.
Some just write the top 3-5 tasks they need to do in order, starting with one and going down. Some list things and label them A1, A2, A3, and so on. Others just calendar them.
Find what works for you and that keeps you on track.
14. Keep your daily list short
One way to make your to-do list more effective is by keeping it short.
Why?
One, it helps you keep from being overwhelmed by a giant list.
It also keeps you from wasting time going through it to figure out or find what’s important. If you do a master list, when you plan, pull what’s important, create your list, prioritize the important, and start with those.
15. New task pop into your head? Write it down!
What happens when you don’t write down something when you think of it? Either you forget it, or you use some of your focus trying to remember that you don’t give your current task full focus.
Have a designated list or spot to write down things as they pop in your head.
This keeps you focused on the task, prevents it from being forgotten, and allows you to review it later when planning.
It’s about being productive
Whatever method you choose and experiment with, remember that the ultimate goal is for you to focus and do what’s most important, whether at work or home.
It starts with knowing what’s important and then focusing on what’s important.
It may take some time for you to figure out your method and experiment. No worries; just stick with it.
Whatever you do, remember that focusing and doing the important is what’s most important.
Also Read: The 40 Top Tips to Improve Your Time Management at Work
