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Managing that To-Do List

Some people hate them. Others love them. I’m on the “love ‘em” team. Checking things off of a list is pure joy to me. Honestly, sometimes I’ll add things to my list that I’ve already done just so I can cross them off. Pathetic? Maybe :)

But whether you love or hate them, they’re likely a source of stress at times. There are days when it seems our to-do list rules us rather than the other way around. The good news is there are a couple of tips that can help us win the list battle.

Three of my personal favorites come from the team at 99%. 

  1. Break tasks down into 10 minute action steps – I’ve been working on this one for a couple of months now & it’s finally starting to become habit. It makes a huge difference for me when I can look at my list & know I can check something off pretty quickly. It’s a well defined, very tangible accomplishment. Bonus of that is the motivation it gives me to keep going :)
  2. If it doesn’t fit on a post-it note it won’t fit in your day – I use an electronic to-do list system but I limit it to 20 tasks. And they’re 10 minute action step type tasks.
  3. Urgent vs. Important – This is one I’m still working on. It takes a lot of discipline for me to not add something to my list unless it’s 100% urgent. Urgent & important are relative of course. But, I always try to ask myself “what’s the worst that’s going to happen if I don’t get ____________ done today?”

What tips to you have for tackling to-do lists effectively & efficiently?

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