To Do Lists That Work, Not Frustrate

Some people love them, some people hate them, but there’s no arguing that to do lists are a necessary part of our fast driven, breakneck speed, way too hurried up lives.  We all have so many things to do every day, and yet we waste so much time going in circles, spinning our wheels and trying to remember important stuff we KNOW we have forgotten to do.  A to do list seems to be the answer and yet many folks just find them aggravating and discouraging, rather than helpful.  So how can we make these ubiquitous little bits of paper work FOR us, rather than frustrate and annoy us?

First of all, don’t even think of trying to throw out the paper and juggle everything in your head.  While some folks have an amazing capacity for memory, and seem to be able to recall long lists, long ago dates and every appointment they ever had; nobody can carry it all "up there" indefinitely.  Eventually they will forget something important, lose or misplace something or maybe just crack under the stress.  It really is quite a relief to have everything out of your head and down on paper.

Next, remember that to do lists are list of, well . . . things to DO.  They should not be places for your goals, long range plans or lists of big projects.  Those kinds of items should be in their own lists, and there are ways of dealing with them so they get done.  But your to do list should consist of items such that you could pick an item, gather the necessary supplies and do it right now.  Then, of course, there’s the fun of getting to cross it off afterward.  (Ok, SOME of us take great joy in crossing things off our lists!)

You will also find it helpful to break down your list into the different types of activities on it.  That way you can plow right through the telephone calls, the notes to write, etc.

You can apply a similar principle to those big projects and long-range goals.  The big projects should be broken down into steps that you can, like I said earlier, such that you could pick a step, gather the necessary supplies and do it right now.  An example would be if you were planning a wedding, you might have on your list to choose a caterer.  However, finding "choose a caterer" on your to do list would be frustrating, as it’s not something you could gather the supplies for and do right now.  Rather, you need to break that step down into smaller steps, like:  make a list of caterers from the phone book, call so & so and ask who she used for a caterer, check out online ratings of caterers in my area.  Each of those items is such that you could gather the supplies (a phone, the phone numbers, a computer) and do it right now.

I hope you’ll see that by thinking a little more carefully about your to do lists, you can make them a very useful and helpful tool for your everyday life.