Making an effective To-Do list
We all have one, and most of us have several. Today I thought I’d take a look at some different types, and what makes an effective To-Do list.
I’ve gone through dozens of variations over the years, moving from one to the next for a variety of reasons - changes in work flow or work intensity, new technology (hardware or software), and sometimes out of simple frustration that I don’t feel like I’m getting enough done.
| * Harvest Point * |
The trick to having an effective To-Do list is to find the combination of Format, Term, and Detail which works best for you. Then, once you have a good list, single-task your To-Do’s until they’re Done’s.
Format - Most people use either Digital, Digital-for-Print, or Hand-Written lists, and there are hundreds of options for each of them. Do you need to see your list on paper, and write notes in the margins? Or do you love not carrying paper, and checking off items on your PDA-phone?
Term - Do you prepare a new list daily, or weekly? Or do you keep an ongoing list? Some people like keeping an ongoing list in a spiral-ring notebook so they have access to old notes they wrote in the margins. Other options would be to save your prior days’ lists in a folder in case you need them, or even better would be to transfer your margin-notes to a more permanent location, such as a client’s file or a contact database.
Detail - This is the most important variable - the one most likely to determine whether your To-Do list is a productivity tool or a major source of frustration. Some people don’t list the “major items” - believing they won’t forget these important things, but need help remembering the smaller, less significant items. Others prefer to only list the major items, with the thought being if you’re going to work off your To-Do list, your work should be on it.
I’ll spend some time going into each of these variables in more detail in another post, reviewing some different options and the pros and cons of each one. In the meantime, you can probably make your To-Do list work in your favor if you take a few minutes to think about these variables. Why are you using your current format, and is there another one that might work better?
Posted: October 29th, 2008 under Organization, Productivity.