The Most Important Steps to Creating an Effective to-Do List
For many, the key to a productive day is creating a clear to-do list, which is why there are so many elements required to create one. To be clear, even haphazardly writing down everything you need to do is still better than not doing it, but if you really want to succeed, why not take a little extra time and do something that will help you get everything done. seriously?
Prioritize your tasks before making a list.
The first step to making a good to-do list is to figure out what should actually be on it. Once you’ve done this, you have a few options, but the first thing you need to do is think through everything you want or need to do.
You can now use one of three methods to sort and prioritize these tasks. The first is quite simple: evaluate each of them using the ABCDE method . Give each task a grade of A, the most important things that will have consequences if they are not completed; B – tasks that will not have serious consequences if they are canceled, but which need to be solved; C – tasks the failure of which has no real consequences, but which would be good to take care of; D, tasks that you can delegate to someone else with confidence that they will complete them; and E are tasks that can simply be abandoned because they have no purpose or consequences.
This is a fairly subjective approach that requires you to determine and follow these estimates yourself, so if you want something more specific, consider using the Eisenhower Matrix or this handy math approach . If you choose Eisenhower, you will create a graph where the X axis represents urgency and the Y axis represents importance, so you end up with a top left quadrant full of urgent and important tasks, and a top right quadrant showing you tasks that are not urgent and not important and so on. That said, it’s helpful to write down some context, such as deadlines and potential consequences, next to each task so you can more easily determine whether they are timely (or “urgent”) and meaningful (or “important”). If you choose the math route to achieve maximum objectivity, go back to this list of tasks and assign each one two numbers from 1 to 10: the first indicates how much effort it will take to complete the task, and the second indicates what impact it will ultimately have. Then divide each task’s “result” number by its “effort” number to get a final score, which will also be from 1 to 10, and then rank all tasks from smallest to largest number to prioritize those that are important but require least amount of effort. This means you can get more done without using up all your energy and resources.
Making your own to-do list
Once you have weeded out the important and urgent tasks, you need to create the to-do list itself. Don’t be afraid to create multiple types of to-do lists, such as long-term to-do lists and daily to-do lists . For example, it’s better to include important but not urgent tasks in a weekly goal list rather than a daily goal list so that you can save most of your time for the things that are most urgently needed.
The gold standard for to-do lists is the 1-3-5 list , so try to stick to this formula when making your list, whether it’s for the day, the week, the month, or the entire year. Using a list like this, you’ll choose one big task, three medium ones, and five small ones that need to be completed within a given time frame—and complete only those. Your time and resources are limited, so this will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed or wasting time on unworthy tasks. A big task should require time and effort, and have consequences if not completed. In your personal life, this could be paying taxes or attending a parent-teacher conference. At work, this might be analyzing data that you need to present at a large meeting. Medium tasks are those that take some time and have some consequences, but do not require a large amount of your time or resources. Small tasks are those that feel good to do but won’t drain you if you don’t get them done, like sorting email or organizing notes. Completing these tasks will motivate you and give you a sense of accomplishment, as well as make a concrete contribution to your work.
Choose a to-do list method
Finally, you need to make an actual list, but there are different ways to do this. Don’t try to store it all in your old head; It’s easy to forget something or get distracted. Instead, you can use an app designed for creating to-do lists, like this one , or even handwrite your to-do lists. Writing by hand helps you understand and remember everything you write down, so it can be a great way to start the day and get pressing tasks in mind. If you’re going to be on the go a lot, try writing in a smart notebook like Rocketbook Core so you can scan pages and immediately access them on your phone or other devices. Otherwise the old school scheduler works very well here. ( Here’s a list of great planners for a variety of needs .)
The goal is to have the list in an accessible place, and to spend some time creating it so that you understand the importance of the tasks at hand and commit to completing them. It takes a little extra time each morning, but it can really pay off.