Successful Mornings: To-Do Lists That Work
Keeping Your To-Do List Under Control
Do you feel like many days there is just too much to do and too little time to complete everything on your “to-do” list? To make our mornings successful, we are going to learn how to make a to-do list that works for you so that your day does not become out of control.
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Today is day 8 of our discussion of Make Over Your Mornings a 14-day course by Crystal Paine, we will look at how to set-up your to-do list. We have completed half of the course. Have you started making over your mornings with some of the lessons from last week like prioritizing, setting your goals and then breaking them into smaller pieces?
What To Include on Your To Do List
As you plan your to-do list, do you find it difficult to narrow down all the “important” tasks you need to complete every day? In today’s lesson, Crystal gave us some great advice to help us focus our to-do lists.
- Start with the basics – your family, shelter, clean clothes, food. Your to-do list should include everything to meet your family’s basic needs first.
- Then give yourself small tasks that you can complete in short periods of time
- Learn how to right-size your to-do list. As you write down all the things you feel should be included on your to-do list, recognize you are only one person and you will not be able to do everything. But you can do the most important things.
- Remember, “big rocks” first from day 3.
Be sure to check out Crystal’s 3 questions to help you decide if you keep an item on your to-do list, delete it, or delegate it.
Print or Electronic To-Do List
We have many resources available to help us with our to-do lists. I prefer keeping my to-do list and daily plan in my written planner. But maybe you like Google calendar or your favorite to-do list app. It’s not important what tool you use to manage your to-do, but it is important to keep you to-do list and be able to focus on your important tasks.
Should you keep one planner or two? Why would you have 2 planners? I have a planner for everything I do at work. I only keep my work tasks and work to-do list on this planner. I also have personal planner for my personal appointments, my children’s schedule and homework and other personal goals I have not related to my work.
Some suggest that you should only keep one planner, you are only one person and you only have the 24 hours to work with. I think if you use only one planner you would need one with 1 day per page or 2-page per day layout to include your complete schedule.
Today’s Challenge
Today your challenge is to make your to-do list. Not just any t0-do list. Challenge yourself to complete a to-do list that you can realistically complete today and then repeat the process every day.
You can also find the best time to write your to-do list. Do you prefer to write your to-do list before bed or early in the morning?
Your turn…
Is your to-do working for you? If it’s not working for you, what do you need to change to make it a tool to make your morning and your day a success?
What kind of planner do you use? Do you keep a personal planner and work planner or just one planner?
