October 23rd, 2012Top StoryBack to Basics: How to Simplify Your To-Do List and Make It Useful AgainBy Whitson Gordon
We share endless amounts of different tips, tricks, and "life hacks" for increasing your productivity, but at a certain point, it becomes too much and you spend more time hacking your to-do list than you actually spend doing stuff. If that sounds like you, then it's time to revisit how you manage your to-do list. Some people think to-do lists are a waste of time, that they become guilt-inducing drugs that hinder you from actually being productive. Some say you should be able to remember everything you have to do. We tend to disagree: if you have the right attitude, a to-do list can be a great "backup" for the tasks in your brain. I find that if I write my tasks down, I'm far less stressed because I know I won't forget anything, and when I'm done with one task, I can move right onto the next without reorganizing the list in my brain. Plus, they're perfect for those little tasks that easily fall by the wayside because no one wants to do them: paying bills, calling customer service, and so on. It may seem ironic that you're reading this article and going through the process when that's the very problem that got you into this mess, but if done right, you should be able to save yourself a lot of trouble in the future. Here's what you need to do. Pick the Right Medium
Whatever you end up with, make sure it's easy to use. The quicker you can add and remove tasks, the more time you'll actually spend doing them. You should never spend more than a few seconds in a to-do app at any given time. If you are, you're falling back into that pit of over-organizing. Add and Organize Your TasksNow that you've got somewhere to write your tasks down, it's time to make sure you're using it in a way that makes your to-do list useful (and not just another list hanging over your head). We've covered a lot of this in our guide to making your to-do list doable, and with good reason—those rules are pretty timeless. But we've simplified things a bit so you can slowly ease yourself into your own productivity method. Right now, we want to only think about the most important things that make a to-do list useful. Here are the things you'll want to keep in mind.
Add Any Info You Need to Get the Task Done: Include phone numbers, links, and other info you'll need to start getting the task done. For example, if one of your tasks is calling Comcast Customer Service, your task would say "Call Comcast, 1-800-934-6489." That way, if you're sitting around with a few minutes to kill, you can jump on that task without having to open your browser and find the number.
Some also recommend adding a "project" tag to your task list, so you know where it fits in the larger scheme of things. I don't do this, as I find this crosses in the line into "too complicated," but if you find that this tag makes things easier, go ahead and add that too.
Keep the List Short: If you have too many tasks on your list, the whole thing will start to feel overwhelming and you'll run into that guilt-inducing drug problem again. The shorter you keep your to-do list, the more focused you can be on the present. Some say keep it under 20 items, while others say keep it down to 3. Don't think about it too hard—you'll know if it's too big or not when certain things don't get done or when you feel like the list is hanging over your head. Focus On the Present: One of the best ways to keep your to-do list short and doable is to avoid far-off future tasks. If you don't need to think about it for a few weeks, put it on a separate list (or better yet, your calendar) and worry about it when it requires your attention. Make Sure Tasks Get Done Every Day
Each day you should be checking off a number of items. If you aren't, there's something wrong with your to-do list (or you aren't getting anything done). If you need to, set aside a bit of time at the end of the day to quickly evaluate what you want to accomplish tomorrow, make sure those items are at the top of your to-do list, and make sure they get checked off the next day. Don't overburden yourself (after all, new tasks will always crop up during the day), but just make sure your list is getting used and that tasks aren't sitting there for too long. If you have to, purge it at the end of the week and start over to make sure it never stops being useful. Other "Life Hacks" You Can Add Later
Again, you don't need to incorporate all of these. Once you get used to having a to-do list that actually works, you may find one or two areas that need improvement, and that's where the above hacks can come in handy. Pick one or two that fit into your workflow, if necessary, and keep moving. Again, the more time you spend experimenting and pruning, the less time you spend actually getting things done. Photo by David Chico Pham. Title image by Tina Mailhot-Roberge.  |
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