When he has downtime, he’ll begin to work through the third list. His first list incorporates events, meetings and phone calls that he must attend to that day the second one lists out what he hopes to get done during those appointments and the third is for all of his remaining to-dos that he needs to get done but doesn’t have any room in his calendar. For Pozen, that means breaking up his master to-do list into three smaller lists. Robert Pozen, a senior lecturer at MIT and the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, suggests breaking up your list into sections. With so many things on your mind, it can be difficult to cut through the noise and prioritize what needs to get done. Thus, by writing out the things you need to do everyday, you’re helping to draw a mental picture of what your day should look like. According to a recent study by professors from Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles, writing things out forces a person to be selective with their notes, and that extra layer of processing material makes it more memorable. While many people opt for apps and special tech gadgets to help with their daily to-dos, research finds that you’re actually better off going the old-fashioned route and getting out a pen and paper. If-then planning helps to make you accountable for your work and forces you to get things done even when you don’t feel like it. “If (or When) XYZ occurs, then I will XYZ.”įor example, “If it’s Tuesday morning, then I will check in with all of my direct reports.” The general format of an if-then statement is: If-then planning not only helps you figure out what you need to do but also when and where you will do it. To help you create a detailed and actionable to-do list, Psychology Today suggests using “if-then” planning. It’s also vital to focus on specific actions rather than vague goals. However, when writing a truly effective to-do list, it’s important to break down every step of a project so you can track your progress and create a realistic timeline for when something will be completed. Writing down your projects is a great first step. Always remember there are other days within the week to get things done, so plan your time accordingly. That’s why it’s incredibly important to be realistic when writing out your to-do list, and only write down items that you plan to complete that day. Don’t overload yourself with to-dos.Īccording to research, 41 percent of to-do items are never completed. From using “if-then” planning to marking your “MITs”, here are seven to-do list tips from professionals for crafting the perfect to-do list: 1. Luckily, there are a number of tricks and tips you can try in order to create the perfect to-do list to help you get everything done. In order to reach peak productivity and truly get things crossed off your list, you have to be realistic with your to-do list, and the way you craft it. In fact, it involves prioritization, time management and self-disciple. Because an effective to-do list is more than just writing out a never-ending list of things you hope to get done.
Writing a to-do list sounds easy - simply jotting down all of your worries and to-dos on a sheet of paper… What could be so hard? The truth of the matter is: there’s a large difference between writing a to-do list and writing an effective to-do list.
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