It would be great if keeping a to-do list was the secret to getting all your work done on time. However, that's not the case:a well-maintained and sensibly compiled to-do list is needed to have the desired effect on your workflow. Stop organizing, start working:3 easy to-do apps to speed up your workflow. Stop Organizing, Start Working:3 Simple Do-It-Yourself Apps to Speed Up Your Workflow Are you a list lover? Stop using your to-do list as one more excuse to procrastinate. Switch to a minimal task management system and focus on getting things done. Read more.
Fortunately, it's not too difficult to ensure your to-do list results in mustard reduction. All you need is a little planning, a solid idea of what you're trying to achieve, and the flexibility to use good ideas from someone else.
Put the following tips into practice and you'll see a to-do list that makes a world of difference in the way you work.
It may sound like a trivial matter, but the timing of your to-do list can have a huge impact on your ultimate success. There is more than one strategy for success, but in general it is not a good idea to make a list on the day. How to Create More Free Time by Sorting Your Schedule How to Create More Free Time by Sorting Your Schedule There's nothing more rewarding than doing a task that's on your schedule beforehand. So why do you insist on punishing yourself for completing tasks, instead of giving yourself your just reward? Read more.
Instead, take some time the night before to plan for tomorrow. Without the stress of starting a new work day, it's easier to make an actionable list that covers everything that needs to be completed. It might even be worth getting into the habit of making your to-do list for the next day at the end of the work day.
Today, it's often assumed that a mobile app can do just about anything that we would have once resorted to pen and paper. While it's true that the digital age has brought some massive improvements to the way we work, it's a mistake to always assume it's the best option.
For some people, a to-do list carries more weight when presented in a high-quality paper notebook. 3 Paper notebooks worth cracking. For 3 paper books worth unraveling. We write a lot about high-tech ways to keep track of Things and manage your life. But sometimes the best thing to use is a plain old notebook. Read More In any case, it's worth trying both physical and digital methods to see if either process offers unique insight into your own work habits.
There are advantages to an app's cloud-based online ubiquity, and there are contrasting advantages to having a paper hard copy. It's not wise to assume the modern version will help you get more done 5 Reasons Your To-Do App Is Making You Less Productive 5 Reasons Your To-Do App Is Making You Less Productive Giving Up Your To-Do Lists? pending tasks? Your problem is not your ambition or the task scheduling app you use. The problem is with how you are using your to-do list in general. Read More
Many users will opt for the digital method, even after trying a to-do list. Of course, there are dozens of applications and services to fulfill this type of functionality, and choosing the right option can be quite difficult.
The first consideration you need to make is what device you want to access your list from. If the answer lies on several different devices, you're better off working with an account-based system like Evernote, where you can log in and view your notes on everything from your smartphone to your home computer. 8 Powerful Evernote Apps for Painless Productivity. Evernote Apps for Painless Productivity Enhance your Evernote note-taking with essential apps and add-ons. These eight picks seamlessly integrate Evernote with your web apps. Read more.
However, there are many other options. If you're already deeply involved in the Windows ecosystem, it might be worth taking advantage of the deep ties OneNote has with OS 5. Make a to-do list on your to-do list? Set it up in OneNote to make things as easy as possible. Read more.
Both OneNote and Evernote are pretty complex pieces of software, and you might want something a little lighter to keep your to-do list from becoming unmanageable. Fortunately, there are plenty of mobile apps. 8 Best Apps to Manage Task Lists on Android. 8 Best Apps to Manage Task Lists on Android. Don't try to combine dozens of tasks in your head. These amazing Android task management apps help you to keep track of your to-do list efficiently. Read More
The longer the to-do list, the less effective it will be. If your list contains a large number of tasks, it will quickly feel more like an insurmountable challenge, and that defeats the point of putting it together in the first place.
Instead of letting your to-do list get out of control, break it down into easy-to-do tasks. One way to accomplish this is by sorting by area:school, work, and home, for example. However, you may find it more practical to differentiate tasks with different priority levels.
Make It Clear Which Tasks Deserve Priority 10 Ways To Get Yourself Off The To-Do List 10 Ways To Get Yourself Off The To-Do List The feeling of drowning in an endless to-do list is a fear common to all of us. The cure is available. Here are ten ways to get your way back. Read More Working like this gives you an overview of everything on your plate, which can help you establish exactly how much you can do in a day, a week, or a month, and that's something you need to know so you can be even more productive. . The 3 Types of Lists Will Help You Be More Productive These 3 Types of Lists Will Help You Be More Productive When it comes to being organized and productive, the to-do list is the ultimate tool. Three types of lists could give you all the power you need without overcomplicating your planning. Read more.
If you're not sure what to work on or in what order, consider evaluating individual projects. List your desired results, phases, or deliverables (your components) and break them down into separate tasks and sub-tasks, which you can then, one after another, transfer to your to-do list. To prepare this initial summary, the Work Breakdown Structure How to Organize Any Project with a Work Breakdown Structure How to Organize a Project with a Work Breakdown Structure A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Every complex project consists of multiple components. The Work Breakdown Structure can help you identify all the steps and put them in sequence. Read More
Once you have an overview of all your tasks, it will be easier to approach a daunting project step by step and estimate how long each task, and therefore the completion of the entire project, will take.
A to-do list is a great way to keep all your tasks in one place, but if you have no idea how long these tasks will take to complete, it may not be as useful. You will only be able to accurately estimate how long a particular job takes, so these numbers may be approximate, but they are still very important.
Whether you're scheduling your to-do list daily or monthly, it's crucial that you keep time in mind. If there isn't enough time to do everything on the list, some tasks are likely to fall by the wayside, and that can quickly become a real problem.
To work around this problem, consider using Google Calendar as the basis of your to-do list. Reminders Turn Google Calendar into an awesome to-do list Reminders Make Google Calendar an awesome to-do list Do you keep a separate to-do list and calendar? ? It introduces friction because tasks and schedule are interdependent. Google has now fixed this by introducing reminders to Google Calendar on Android. Read more . Its recently introduced reminder functionality helps imbue tasks with a sense of time, ensuring they get done before their due date.
Google Calendar makes the whole process as easy as possible, since you will be able to set your reminder with voice or by hand, and it will always ask you to attach a time for individual tasks. Sometimes it's hard to commit to scheduling times instead of just tasks, but it pays off in the long run.
The last step of any completed to-do list task is to check it off, but it's something we often miss. Unchecked tasks that we know are complete will quickly clutter your list, making it less obvious what's left to handle, so this can quickly become a problem.
However, there is also a psychological aspect to this process. The idea of a to-do list is that you keep track of your top priorities at any given time. If you manage to complete tasks, but fail to record those small wins, you're not getting all the benefits on your list.
Enjoy the fact that you are marking a job well done. Part of the idea of a to-do list is to lay out everything that needs to be managed, but it's also a method of tracking everything that's accomplished. When you're struggling for motivation How to Regain Creative Motivation After You've Burned Out How to Regain Creative Motivation After You've Burned Out Writers aren't the only ones who suffer from "creative block." What can you do to rekindle your creative fire? Here are five easy things you can try. Read More
It's great to create your own to-do list methodology, a strategy that fits perfectly into your workflow. However, there is nothing wrong with trying pre-existing strategies and building on them.
Look at a system like Personal Kanban. It is quite simple, with only two reais. “rules” - but you can take that base and customize it until you're happy with the results. Consider the two principles Kanban is built on:
It's a solid start, and something that's easily modifiable. Plus, you'll find plenty of real Kanban case studies online that you can use to guide your own usage. Beyond that, there are many more strategies out there:take someone else's account of how they improve their work. My Best Productivity Hack:How Gina Trapani Gets Things Done. Productivity hack to get things done even on a busy day. This is what it is. Read more and see how you can apply it to your own life.
Do you have a great tip on how to get your to-do list right? Looking for guidance on the right way to manage your tasks? Let us know in the comments section below..
