A To-Do List is Different From a Memory List

If you find yourself with a 30-item to-do list and constant frustration that you didn't accomplish everything you'd hoped to each day, you're just like author Peter Bregman. In his article, Your To-Do List Is in Fact Too Long, he explains how he stopped being busy with the small things and started actually crossing off the most important things. He accomplished this by creating 2 separate lists: a to-do list and a memory list.

A to-do list should only be as long as what you can get done today. A memory list should be a list of what you will get done, eventually. The purpose of the memory list is to not forget. The purpose of a to-do list is to get things done. Each day, use the memory list as a source of things-to-do and keep them separate. Using a memory list as the to-do list will leave you feeling behind and frustrated at the end of every day.

Some use an online task keeper as a memory list. I have attached a copy of my memory list that attempts to categorize my activities. One side is work-related. The other side is personal. When the list gets too full (usually weekly), I turn the page to a clean sheet and transfer the uncompleted activities to a new sheet--and it turns out that sometimes, I decide they are not important enough to transfer. Each day, I pull items from my memory list and add them to my to-do list, which is just a notebook.

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Jonathan partners with high-performing technical specialists to reach their full potential as people-leaders. Combining his science background, corporate experience, and teaching skills, he creates a knowing and trusting relationship necessary to ask clients to do the hard work of building new skills, using their time differently, and embracing values that bring them and the organization the greatest success. To learn how Jonathan can help your organization, visit envisionpartnersllc.com