Everyone needs to learn how to manage time effectively at some point. Without effective time management, something will always end up falling through the cracks. On top of that, you’ll probably be overwhelmed with the stress of managing so much at once without a proper plan of attack. Fortunately, that’s where useful tools like to-do lists come in. They aren’t necessarily for everyone, but they’re a huge productivity hack that most people should take advantage of. Let’s dive into how they can help you and why to-do lists are so useful!
Time Management
Effective time management will help you with your career as well as handling your personal life. It leads to a more productive and efficient life – with more free time to boot. Obviously I think to-do lists are a great tool to help you with time management, but there are several things you should keep in mind in conjunction with those to-do lists.
Make Priorities
At the end of the day, you need to prioritize and focus on doing what needs to get done. A good rule of thumb is that if a task is important and has a tight deadline, you should do it right away. If it is fairly important but doesn’t have a tight deadline, make time for it somewhere in your schedule. If it isn’t important or urgent, you can decide when you might need to do it (or have time for it), set it aside to come back to later, or even see about assigning it to someone else (if it is related to work or a business).
Make Time For Fun
If all you do is work, you’ll burn yourself out. Throughout your typical work day, be sure you take the time to get away and cool down for a quick break every now and then. On top of that, when you aren’t at work make sure you have some time for leisure activities – whatever it is that you enjoy doing.
Prepare On The Day Off Before The Start Of Your Week, Like Sunday For Most People
It doesn’t have to take long – maybe 10-20 minutes – to set yourself up for a week of success. Make sure you at least know the major things you’ll need to accomplish during the week, and prepare for Monday (or whatever the following day is) however you need to.
Life Gets Chaotic
We also need to take into account how chaotic life gets sometimes. After all, not everything will always go as planned. A to-do list may help make certain things go according to plan more often, but you also need a system for when things don’t go as you except them to. Perhaps you can cross things off and just add them to next week’s to-do list. Alternatively you can shift them to another day. Of course, for a to-do list to work, this type of thing needs to be a last ditch effort. Things get chaotic sometimes, but that’s not always an excuse to procrastinate either!
To-Do Lists Make Your Life Much Easier
Ultimately, to-do lists are nice and neat. They make organizing all your tasks much easier, and progressing through those lists feels rewarding. Just the simple task of creating a to-do list is often enough organization to help you get started on your tasks and progress through them in a logical way.
Using A To-Do List
So, now that we’ve discussed a bit of the background regarding time management, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty details. Let’s go over everything you need in order to use a to-do list to your advantage!
Pick A Style
First up, we have a relatively easy tidbit. You just need to pick a style. To-do lists can just be something you scratch onto a torn piece of notebook paper, but it can also be as extensive as a daily agenda that you keep track of. Personally, I like to keep an agenda with my full to-do list, but I’m juggling a blog, work, family, businesses, and so on – you don’t necessarily need to go the route that works for me.
Familiarize Yourself With Your Patterns, Habits, And Schedules
The more comfortable you are with your own patterns and routines, the easier it will be to make to-do lists. If you’re not aware of any routines or habits you have, try jotting down things you do daily over the course of a week. You’d be surprised at some of the simple tasks you take for granted. Once you know what’s already part of your routine, it’s easier to craft a to-do list that can help you tackle the other responsibilities you have at hand.
Make A List Of Tasks You Must Complete
Another good idea is to make a long list of every task you need to complete. You could do this by week, month, or just everything you’re aware of at the moment. With that knowledge on hand, you can then craft the to-do list you need for the current week. It’s a good idea to break it down as much as possible and be specific!
Organize Based On Priority Level Or The Day You Want To Get It Done
Once you’ve made your additional to-do list, it can be a good idea to prioritize tasks you have. One option is to put a star (or something to signify the importance of the task) so you know it’s a top priority. Another option is to put important tasks on specific tasks – for example, many people like to put the most important tasks at the beginning of the week. Figuring out those tasks that are at the top of your priority list can make completing your to-do list easier.
Check It Off
Last, but not least, you can go through each item and complete it on your to-do list. There is a nice satisfactions that comes from crossing items on your to-do list off. It helps reinforce that you did complete something today, even if it feels like you were overwhelmed and didn’t get as much done as your originally wanted.
Conclusion
Time management skills are pretty straightforward, but it’s up to you to have the discipline to follow them. Having a to-do list just makes it a bit easier to stay consistent and maintain the discipline needed so that you can follow through on your obligations. I hope you liked these tips for my favorite productivity hack, and if you have one of your own add it in the comments!
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