Time Management Ninja. Craig Jarrow
are afraid that if they write it down, they must do it later. This is silly. It’s your list, and you can add, change, or delete things (those that turn out to be unimportant) at any time. Just because you put it in your list doesn’t mean you are obligated to do it.
It’s better to capture a to-do and delete it later, rather than miss a potentially important task.
When You Think of It, Put It on Your List
People often ask what kinds of tasks they should put on their list. “Should I add all tasks? Or just the most important ones?”
The answer is yes. You should add all the tasks to your list, no matter how big or how small. No matter how important or trivial. Everything that you may need to do now or in the future. Your list is there to remember your work, so you don’t have to.
So, when you think of an item, don’t wait until later. Immediately pull out your list and add it. This should only take a few seconds, but it requires discipline to do this every time you think of a task.
What Should You Be Doing Right Now?
When it comes to being more productive, one of the key questions to ask yourself is, “What should I be doing right now?”
This is where your list has your back. When you don’t know what you should be doing, you need to look at your to-dos.
Your list is there to remind you of what you need to do and identify which tasks are most important. So, your list shouldn’t be disposable. If you are writing lists on Post-it Notes or pads, that get lost or misplaced, you are going to lose tasks.
Rather than having those to-dos in random places, add them to your one list. This will ensure that you have all of your obligations in one place. Your to-do list should be a continuous list that is always tracking what you might need to do next.
Your Menu of Productivity
Your to-do list is a “productivity menu.” It shows you all the options, items, and priorities that are available for your time.
When you complete a to-do and are ready to start a new one, make sure you review your list. Don’t just pick up whatever is in front of you or at the top of your email inbox. If you do, you will be busy, but not doing your most important work.
Take a moment to regroup and collect your thoughts. This prevents you from being reactionary and simply jumping on whatever task happens to be in front of you. A good practice is to stop and consult your list. Review what you have completed and what the next priority is. Your list is your “menu” of what you need to do next.
In other words, if it’s not on your list, don’t do it.
Prioritize Your List (and Your Life)
Keeping a list is an excellent first effort. However, having an enormous list of things to do is only the first step. You need to order them by degree of importance.
If you don’t prioritize your list, you will likely choose to-dos that are easy, but not significant. Your to-do list allows you to put your tasks in order of how important they are to your efforts.
If you are using a paper list, you can use priority labels like “A, B, C…” or “1, 2, 3…” However, a good highlighter or two is usually more effective and quicker.
This is an area where an app-based to-do list shines. You can order your items without having to rewrite your list. Most apps can show you a subset of your current or most essential tasks.
One List to Rule Them All
Before you get “list happy,” it is important to note that you want to maintain one list as described in the “Power of One.”
A common mistake is to have multiple lists for home, work, etc. The problem that arises is that you end up with different lists that are separated or out-of-sync. This makes it more difficult to compare your priorities and to get an overview of all your workload at once.
As mentioned in Tip 2, you should have “one list.” It can be a master list that has sub-lists within it. I say you should keep one list that encompasses all aspects of your life.
Having one list may seem overwhelming if it is a large collection of tasks. However, the benefits of keeping all your work in one known place is powerful. To-do apps again shine here because they give the power and flexibility to create near endless list of tasks and sub-sections.
Regardless of whether you use paper or an electronic solution you want to be able to pare down the view of your list to what you need to do today. I call this your “Today List.” Many apps allow you to do this as a feature, or by task due date. This allows you to look at the subset of to-dos that you want to complete today.
If you are using a paper list, you can use highlighters or separate pages to identify your “today items.”
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