To-do lists are extremely important. They help keep you focused on what needs to get done. It’s great having to-do lists saved onto your notepad on your computers and mobile; however, having them concretely written out in front of you, ready to be ticked off, is the most effective way of accomplishing all your tasks. This article reveals how to create the most perfect to-do lists!
The best thing to do is place your to-do list on the fridge. You can do this by purchasing a magnetic whiteboard or blackboard that fits perfectly. Now it’s up to you how you like to divide your to-do list. Do you want a weekly planner that divides your to-do tasks by days of the week? Or, do you want a monthly planner that divides bigger to-do goals by months?
Some of these come with smaller boards where you can write your urgent to-do lists. Otherwise, you can just buy one huge whiteboard to make a more generalized to-do list.
What’s important is to also choose boards that don’t bubble, peel at the edges or make marks after erasing any words.
Do you need to pay bills, take your daughter to the doctor, or have a driver’s license that needs to be renewed? These are all your most urgent tasks that need to be placed on top of your list. Health issues always come first, and that’s where they need to be placed.
It’s good to keep three specific colors in mind; red or pink for extremely urgent tasks, orange for urgent tasks, and green for important tasks. You can use the rest of the colors for other tasks that are more mundane, such as chores like taking out the trash.
Do you work for yourself or from home and have many clients? Prioritize your work to-do list according to your most important clients – those that have been clients for a long time, and those that pay well for your services.
Concentrate on these clients first as they value your time the most, and you get the most value out of your limited time. Once you have done their work, concentrate on the other parts of your work that generate income.
If you work for a boss, it’s important to prioritize the work that is most important according to your boss’ needs. After prioritizing that, it’s important to do the “sponge cake before the icing” method.
According to American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, and author of “The Road Less Traveled,” most people will eat the icing on a cake first because that is their favorite part. He suggests eating the sponge cake first, i.e., doing the most arduous tasks first so you can leave your favorite tasks for last, just like the icing on a cake or the cherry on top!
If you have never been to a gym in your life, don’t make one of the things to do on your list, working out for 90 minutes straight. You won’t be able to, and will just feel like a failure. Rather write out things like “Do 10 Pushups,” on Monday, “Do 10 Sit-Ups,” on Tuesday, “Do a Dance Workout for 15 Minutes on Wednesday,” and so on.
The more realistic your to-do lists are, the more you’ll be able to cross them off and feel a sense of achievement.
If you have many chores to do, don’t write on your to-do list, “Do Chores;” rather divide them up. So, instead, you will write:
This way, you divide everything into little steps which you must tick off straight after completing, so that you can feel a great sense of accomplishment.
If you are a Mom or Dad running a busy household and need to keep on top of things, you need to make sure everyone’s needs are covered. Make the to-do lists are a family affair; assign everyone in the family a specific color to write and tick with, and make sure they stick to their tasks.
Some whiteboards come complete with a separate smaller whiteboard, so that everyone will have their own space to write on, and it will all fit perfectly on the fridge.
If you are planning everything for the members of the household to do, it may take some time, but it will be well worth it. Before delegating tasks, ask your partner and kids what tasks are important for them to do, and what chores they prefer doing.
One of the most time-consuming tasks is buying groceries every day and then cooking. However, if you have a menu board that comes with a grocery list board, you can sit down every Sunday evening, and write down what the new menu of the week will be, and exactly what groceries must be bought on Monday to fill up the fridge. This will really save an extraordinary amount of time.
Make sure your to-do lists aren’t all over the place. Write neatly, and instead of crossing out anything, rather erase and write down over that. If it’s too messy, it will feel uncomfortable just staring at the lists, and you will feel more anxious about getting things done.
If you want to stay on top of things and be more organized, then to-do lists are what you need! Follow all the tips above, and you’ll have to-do lists that are easy to manage and follow, and you’ll be able to accomplish all your short and long-term goals step by step!
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