Basics of an effective To-do list

The mind is for having ideas not holding them (David Allen)

A couple of years ago this phrase stuck into my mind and changed my attitude towards memorizing abilities and productivity. Living in today’s fast-paced environment it is quite hard to memorize all brilliant ideas that occur to us and even harder to implement them. To-do list, in turn, is an effective tool to organize one’s routine and kick off implementation of those big ideas. I have done some research on productive To-do list creation that I would like to share with you.

In ideal world, it is recommended to have several separate To-do lists:

·      daily

·      weekly

·      long-term (monthly)

A long-term to-do list is basically a list of big goals to accomplish with assigned implementation date. For keeping the track, the doable goal should be divided into smaller actionable weekly plans – aka a weekly To-do list. A daily to-do list in turn includes everything needed to be done today.

Foundation of an effective to-do list is structure and content. Correctly built Structure ensures the clarity and implementability of tasks.

•  A to-do item is recommended to be action oriented. Starting a task name with a verb provides deeper understanding of what needs to be accomplished. For example, one may write down “Emails” or “read emails”. The first option does not inform which action to take to implement the task, while the second gives clear instruction of what to do.
•  A to-do item is doable when it contains a single step at a time. For example, “read an article in French” vs “learn French”. The first option is easier to accomplish and is psychologically digestible. By putting it one can make a real step a day to a bigger goal of being fluent in French, while by writing the second option one may risk never starting to learn the language.
• Making a to-do task specific helps to set the clear vision and to save time when implementing. For example, “Pivot tables” vs “include pivot tables on economic growth on page 3”.

Content ensures the productivity of the person.

• To take most out of the day it is recommended to build a clever task list, which includes everything serving a purpose: simple and hard; interesting and mundane tasks.
• To save time, it is best to write down the approximate To-do list the night before. But flexibility is always welcome: one may update it during the day.
• Starting the day by implementation of simple tasks can be a good idea. Crossing them off gives an instant feeling of productivity and motivation.
• It is desirable never to skip implementation of the Important tasks – the ones leading to big goals. If you keep skipping them try to break them down to smaller tasks.

Everyone is different. While some need a simple To-do list to be productive, others use advanced forms of to-do lists and even apps to ensure productivity. People try grouping tasks by due-dates or by similarity of tasks, color them to differentiate work-related and personal tasks. At the end of the day there is no formula that fits all. The important thing is to probe and find the To-do list that serves you the most.