Clutter Clearing Tips For You – Better To Do Lists Now
To Do List Tips To Make Your List More Effective
Turns out you might be using your To Do List all wrong.
Is your To Do List a measure of your self-worth? A punishment to beat yourself into doing things? An uninspiring, endless list of boring tasks that never gets shorter?
Oh yeah, been there baby!
Here’s five quick tips to make your To Do List work for you.
Tip # 1: You Are More Than Your To Do List!
Put a pleasurable or rewarding experience on your To Do List first.
I used to feel like my To Do List was just nagging me. I didn’t always want to do it.
Instead, I wanted to veg in a hot bath as I read my latest book club novel. Then I’d feel guilty about not completing my looming list.
One day I tried putting this first on my list:
1. Luxuriate in a hot bath and read my book club novel.
The funny thing is, doing this made me more productive and inspired to do more on my list.
Your To Do List is a tool to enhance the many parts that make up your life.
Your list is about living well. Getting what you want.
I believe it’s a mistake to make your To Do List a list of taxing, boring menial tasks.
Your To Do List reminds you that your life is multi-faceted, not just about work, chores or organizing your living space.
Your To Do List is about you being fully present and enjoying that present.
So start your list with something just for you, enjoyable, relaxing and fun. You’re worth it, Sweeting!
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Sometimes my list starts with “Morning Meditation” or “Watch Entertaining DVD.” I make sure I either do this first or soon after accomplishing an important task.
Tip #2: Keep your list short.
Here’s how. When tasks come to mind, jot them down on a Master To Do List. This can be in the back pages of your Daily To Do List pad.
The Master To Do List is the big picture collection of tasks so you don’t keep your mind clouded with tasks you are not currently working on, but don’t want to forget.
Your Daily To Do List is the Action list. For today.
Remember, it’s not about quantity, it’s about getting an action completed so you move forward in creating what you want in life.
Tips # 3: Write a maximum of three tasks to complete each day.
List three important actions, rather than menial tasks you know you can easily cross off.
Try thinking of crafting your three daily To Do’s this way:
- One pleasurable experience to make you energized and motivated.
- One work task to get you toward a work goal.
- One personal task to get you toward a personal goal.
Tip #4: Finish at least one To Do before 11:30AM.
First things first. Creating the habit of accomplishing one important To Do before the morning is done, before lunch, is a great start. Then you can increase this to two important tasks by 11:30, and three if that works for you.
Reap the rewards of being productive consistently as you gain momentum towards your goals.
Tip #5: List your Daily To Do’s the night before.
In the morning, you want to be in ‘focus and clarity mode’, not ‘ruminating mode’ (which is anxiety producing and can lead to procrastination). Get in the habit of writing your To Do’s the night before. Don’t wait until just before bed when you’re brain weary.
The next day you’ll be able to glance at your list and take action.
Download Your FREE Fillable Simplified Better To Do List Templates.
Do you keep a To Do List? What’s working for you with your To Do List? What’s not working?
Let me know the answers to these two burning questions in the comments below. My reply may help fan the flames to spur you on with support and suggestions to get your To Do’s To Done.
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For those of you who don’t yet know me, I’m Jul’s Arthur. I help women professionals & entrepreneurs STOP endlessly spinning their wheels stuck in anxiety and overwhelm with the chaos and stuff in their home, instead START simplifying, so everything has a place, they gain FREEDOM, CLARITY and easily manifest their DREAM LIFE. I’m also the author of the book 25 Days of Holiday Organizing! Ready to trade in DIYing it for fast track results? I’d love to help you go from chaos to FREEDOM..
This is SO me. I love putting the self-care item first! And I am going to try separating my items as you suggest. Motivated to get stuff done–BEFORE 11:30 AM! 🙂
Woo hoo! Isn’t is such a liberating idea to get even one important thing done before 11:30AM, then you can have some “hooky” time! I am so glad you recognized yourself in my humble post. Self-care is essential and yet so often we intend to get to it….and it gets forgotten. Working on this one still, myself!
several years ago, to counteract my perfectionist tendencies, i started adding items like #1 to my list. amazing transformation! “to do” lists should not be all about drudgery. thanks for the great tips! (i still need to concentrate on #3 more…)
Hiya April! So glad you experienced an amazing transformation when you added something enjoyable to your “To Do List.” I’m so happy to offer tips that can counteract perfectionism…the foe to action. Keep trying on #3, sticking to no more than 3 items on your daily to do list. You can even start with accomplishing 1 important task, and build from there.
These are all great suggestions. I love the idea of making the first thing on my list something that’s enjoyable. That’s definitely a list to look forward too. I hadn’t thought of a master list either. I like that concept!
Glad you found my suggestions helpful, Camesha. A list to look forward to….I like the sound of that! The master list is something I came up with years ago, to help me release and remember all those pesky, sudden thoughts…’Oh, yeah we need computer paper, I should call so and so’…with my master list, which I keep electronically, I have a place for those niggling must do thoughts, and I can get right back to what I was doing. Thanks so much for your comments!
OK, Hazaa! I’m so glad we connected. It is definitely a case of divine timing. I’m also an avid to-do-lister but quickly get boggled down by the “no fun” on my lists. I really love the idea of putting in time to relax and focusing on the “why” I’ve made the list.
Thanks for this Jul’s, I’m an instant fan!
Hazaa! Love that. I agree, things keep aligning in the universe. Thanks so much, I love that you are an instant fan! We all need fans. Going to go relax and read my novel…have some fun lass!
Great tips. Honestly, I’m an obsessive To-Do List maker — but get completely overwhelmed when implementing. I’ll try your “Stick To Three” tip and let you know by the end of the today. Hah
Sara you have me smiling with “I’m an obsessive To-Do List maker…” Before I learned to reign in some of my obsessive list making (and my excessive non list implementation), I used to make shopping lists, and errand maps, only to discover once out and about…I’d left the list at home. About that point, I would lament that I wasn’t born with a photographic memory as I tried to recall a vague mental picture of my list.
Please do let me know how your day goes with your “Sticking To Three!” Remember it takes practice to assign less to do more. You may even want to try one important thing a day for a while.