The To-Do list: How to use to-do lists in the most productive way
A to-do list is nothing but a list of tasks you need to complete in a certain period of time. It’s a very simple, efficient and extremely popular productivity tool, the only problem is that you can find conflicting advice online on whether to-dos work or not, and whether you should keep them in your productivity tool belt at all.
The best way to keep a to-do list
There are several ways to keep your lists in check
- Pen and paper
- Desktop software or a digital notepad
- Online applications like Todoist, Microsoft To Do, Google Task, Remember The Milk or Monday
- Visual board
- Trello
Micromanaging yourself
Think less about smaller tasks and more about experiences, improvements, outputs, and stories that you can break down into tasks which can be performed in a 2-hour working flow
Make sure your to-do list is not boring
Make sure you do things that are aligned with your life vision and mission, things you are good at, and tasks that motivate you to grow and develop yourself
Morning Planning Meeting and Daily To-To List
The purpose of this meeting is to: Align your daily tasks with weekly and quarterly goals
- Maintain momentum and motivation
- Detect and consider roadblocks in the processes you follow
- Focus yourself for the rest of your day
Your “Done” List
A list of all the tasks you have completed in a certain period of time.
Different to-do lists for maximum productivity
Vision list: a list of all the things you want to experience in life
- Maybe someday list: things that are not particularly important, that you may do one day
- The 100 day to do list: your quarterly plan, with priorities selected for the coming three months
- Weekly list: A list of tasks you will complete in one week
- Done list: all the tasks you have already completed
- Not-to-do list: helps you stay focused and do tasks with the most impact
- Other lists: lists that help you organize yourself
Reading list
This should be one of your favorite lists.
- A list of books you want to read in your life or in the coming weeks and months
- Make sure that you cross a book off the list every two weeks, or at least one per month
Why don’t to-do lists work for some people?
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mistakes to avoid when trying to implement lists
- Most often this is because they make some common mistakes
- Here are the biggest errors one can make when using lists
Having too many items on the list
Limit the number of tasks to be put on your to-do list.
- Divide tasks into “to-do”, “selected”, “in progress”, and “done” columns to make it easier to decide where and how to start.
The main benefits of to-do lists
It’s the best way to manage and organize your life
- You can easily break down your big goals into items, and items into tasks
- Sets your priorities more easily
- Measures progress more easily (what gets done)
- Free your brain and get more mental bandwidth
- Don’t forget things
- Manage your time better
Not-to-do list
A list of tasks you do not do, but delete, delegate, outsource, or simply say no to
- Helps you focus better, avoid distractions, and only perform tasks that have the biggest impact on value production and happiness in life
Kaizen list
Always improve yourself
- It’s a list of prioritized potential improvements in your life, as identified by you and the people closest to you
- The Kaizen philosophy (always improve yourself) and a growth mindset are important parts of becoming successful in your personal and professional life.
Vision list
See the world as a playground with unlimited opportunities for growing, enjoying, and creating, individually and in collaboration with other people
- Keep 50-70 items on your vision list and regularly update it
- It should empower you and give you motivation when you’re feeling down
Maybe someday list
The “maybe someday” list should prevent your vision list from becoming overwhelming
Starting with easy tasks
Prioritize tasks by most important to least important
Not taking the time to plan and regularly update your to-do lists
Proper planning can save you many hours of execution, so always take time to do so.
- Make sure you timebox your planning time in your personal calendar
- Schedule your time for planning in advance
Quarterly to-do list: a link between long-term and short-term planning
Decide on the tactical level which areas of life you should focus on
- Consider your life vision, your current situation, new opportunities and changes in the environment, your new desires and feelings, feedback from your teammates and other people, and so on.
Weekly to-do list
Use a Kanban board to visualize your weekly workflow.
- Limit Work in Progress (WIP).
- With the right amount of work in progress, you can be in the flow instead of facing anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, or boredom.
Other lists you can keep to be better organized
Other lists to unburden your brain
- A weekly home cleaning and maintenance schedule
- Gift ideas
- Things not to forget
- Your shopping lists
- Improvement list
- To-watch list To-read list