Today we’re going to talk about writing a to-do list. A to-do list is a list where you write down all the things that you want to do in a day. This could be for school, university, work, or daily tasks and errands. I usually write a quick to-do list on the days where I feel I have a lot to do. In my recent lessons we have been reading an article which argues that if you want to get more things done, it is best to write fewer things down. Here is an exert from the article:
The solution turned out to be counterintuitive: I got more done by making my to-do list shorter.
One of my most valuable productivity tools is a stack of Post-It notes. Not the smallest size, but the 3″ x 3″ squares. The top Post-It contains my to-do list for today, and today only. Because my day is a limited size, I figure it makes sense to limit the size of my to-do list. If I can’t fit the day’s tasks on the Post-It, I’m not likely to fit them into the day.
The top left corner is reserved for the “One Big Task” I need to accomplish today. It could be an article, a presentation, a training plan, a client proposal, or the draft of a poem… I start the day by devoting my full creative energy to the most important task on my list. The rest of the Post-It is taken up with everything else I have to do today, roughly in order of priority.”
Taken from 99percent.com – View Article Here
One of the most important concepts of the article is that the advice seems to be counterintuitive. This is because the advice is counter to what one would expect using intuition. One may presume that writing more things on a to-do list would lead to more things being done, however, the author of the article finds the opposite to be the case; the less you write, the more you do.
This is interesting because it’s psychological. If you have lots of things to do in the day it can be overwhelming, meaning that you feel that there are too many things to do, and instead you end up doing less. Setting realistic targets and working your way through them gives you the motivation to continue and complete your list.
The author uses post-it notes to write his to-do list because this limits the number of tasks for the day. He then chooses the most important task and starts the day doing that, putting his ‘full creative energy‘ into it. This comes from the idea that you are at your freshest and most creative first thing in the morning.
Other Thoughts
What type of jobs would this type of strategy work with? Can you think of any jobs where this technique wouldn’t work?
Do you keep a to-do list? Do you have any tips when it comes to writing a to-do list?