This is Part 3 and the final installment in the How to Make the Most of Your 24-Day series.
We all have priorities… whether we’ve pre-determined them or not. We can choose to make living with intention a priority or we can choose to make letting life hit us as it comes a priority.
If we don’t decide ahead of time our intentions for the day, in almost every case, the day will fill up.
By writing out a to do list for the day, you are deciding ahead of time what your priorities are. On the flip side, you are also decided what your priorities AREN’T. Because if it’s not on the list, it’s not a priority.
You probably already know and believe that a to do list is a good idea. But judging from the emails I’ve received in a recent weeks, many of you are frustrated because it seems like no matter how hard you try, you never make it through half the things on your list?
Here are three keys that help me actually finish my to do list almost every single day:
Keep It Short
Most of us know that we cannot do it all, but that doesn’t stop us from trying. And in the process of trying, we end up high-strung, exhausted, and overwhelmed.
For years, I set myself up for defeat day after day by creating an unrealistic to-do list. I always have lots of things I want to do and things I need to do. Instead of pacing myself and spacing out my projects, I’d harness my over-achieving personality and create impossibly long to-do lists for each day.
It took me a long time to realize that by creating an unrealistic to do list for my day, I was setting myself up for defeat from the get-go. So I started requiring myself to not put anymore than 10 items on my to-do list. That might sound like a lot — but that was a huge improvement over my previous 20 or 30 items. 🙂
Make It Time-Bound
In addition to keeping my to do list short, I started putting time blocks for each item on the to do list. Instead of just making a list telling me that I needed to do this, that, this, that, and that other thing, I actually write specific time blocks for each item on the to do list.
Not only does assigning specific times for each task help me to make a clear plan for my day, but it also guarantees I don’t plan to do 26 hours’ worth of work in a 24-hour day. As I’m writing out the plan for the day, I will often realize I just don’t have enough time to do everything I had hoped to do and still have margin and family time. So this forces me to choose the top priorities and either delete the other ideas or bump them to another day.
Yes, it takes more time to have to think through your day like this, but I’ve found it is so worth it. In fact, I find it very empowering! You see, I write my to do list for the next day right before I go to bed. And when I finish it, I can go to sleep knowing that the next day is {in most cases!} not overwhelming… there are enough hours and there is a plan in place. All I have to do is get up and follow the plan!
Re-Work It Often
This might sound like just something that would make more work, but hear me out! I’ve found it to be tremendously helpful to re-write my to do list/action plan for the day around noon.
Why? Because usually my morning never goes quite as planned. Which means that I didn’t quite get to everything and I’m started to feel a little overwhelmed. When this happens, instead of letting the frustration levels rise, I try to stop and re-evaluate my list.
In most cases, I’ll find an item or two that I can bump to another day or a project I can streamline. For instance, instead of trying to get all the kitchen cupboards cleaned out, I’ll just down-size the project to the two messiest cupboards. Or, instead of trying to finish that entire article for another site, I’ll commit to working on it for 20 minutes.
This one strategy of stopping and re-working my to-do list in the middle of the day has made a major impact in my productivity and stress levels. Taking five minutes to re-group mid-day not only re-energizes me, but it also gives me renewed focus and productivity. Try it and maybe it will work for you, too!
What helps you finish your to do list? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks!
I use a weekly planner where I have my goals for my home and blog on the left and then transfer to them to my day’s tasks one at a time. Once it’s complete, I will choose another item to work on. I use the bullet journal concepts and find it works for me since I seem to always underestimate how long a task is going to take me! I love seeing what works for other people, it’s how we find a system that works for us. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
ا suffered a lot from the stress that was caused by unaccomplished to do lists. I think your adivse will help me coping this.
I put my to do list on my cell phone calendar with a reminder alarm. I set it up as suggested with a time frame for each thing and a little alarm goes off 15 minutes before each task. And yes, as the day progresses, I sometimes have to rework the timing as I see how things actually pan out.
I love everyone’s ideas here!
I think the methods I use may be a little unconventional, but here goes!
1.) I rarely write any household chores on my to-do list. My to-do list is for business goals and tasks, appointments and activities for my son, along with other loose ends.
For household chores, I essentially just force myself to do them “as needed” and try to have a playdate at the house each week. On playdate “day” I get up at 5 AM and speed clean until 9 or 10 AM. It is AMAZING how much I can get done when I’m on the clock and there’s no other choice but to hurry and work as hard as I can.
2.) Laundry is just kind of always “on the list” I always end up with a huge heap of unfolded laundry or un-put-away laundry if I try to do a whole week’s worth in one day. Instead, I put in a load about every other day or a little more often and get the whole load done and put away. It’s such a smaller job and easy-peasy to do.
3.) Like many have said, I have a paper list for all those business and personal-life tasks. It sits on the end table that is kind of “my spot” in the house. As soon as I lose focus, I remember what’s on that list.
4.) I like to pick the top 3 most important things in my day that HAVE to get done and start with those.
5.) I stay more focused, motivated, and energized when I break up computer work with a little household chore. And again, I say to myself, how many dishes can I do and stuff can I tidy in 20 minutes? Let’s speed through it for 20 minutes solid and then I’m done.
Hope this is helpful to someone. Or maybe everyone will just tell me that I live in an alternate universe! Either way, it works for me 🙂
I use a To-Do list app for most things. I like it because I can schedule how often I’d like something to repeat, and it will automatically do this for me. That part is especially good for housekeeping and other weekly or monthly obligations.
I have also found that integrating my to-do list and schedule for the day makes everything go smoothly. I’ll look over the to-dos on my app, then I pick out the things that I’d like to do for that particular day, and I write it directly into my agenda which has my schedule, errands, and other obligations. This way I can see if I’m overwhelming myself and I can also try to figure out when will be the best time to tackle it.
I’m still perfecting this system, but so far it’s really helped cut out some unnecessary stress!
One thing that helps me is to have my to do list on paper. By having the list on paper, it allows me to easily add or cross things off my list, without opening up the laptop, and all the potential distractions that come with that!
Also, lately I have found a method from the book Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy that is working for me. I use a spiral notebook for my to do list, and on the left side is my weekly to do list, and on the right I break things down by day. I can easily fill in my daily to do list by referencing my weekly to do list which is right there. In addition, because I have a business I am working on from home, my days are broken down by home to do and business to do. So if I am focusing on home, I look at that column and get going, and if I’m focusing on business, I refer to that column. These techniques have helped keep everything straight, and balance my priorities. But as always, it’s a work in process!
What helps me finish my To Do List? Scissors.
😉
Here is what my to-do list for today looks like:
Breakfast: Chorizo & Eggs wraps, with fruit.
Out of house by 7:30 Water:
Back by 7:50
Whole house pick up
All floors
Focus Room: Kitchen
Weed front yard
Cut & File 9/14 inserts
Finish school volunteer work
Target trip?
Dinner: Chilequiles, rice & beans.
I just wanted to write this down to show something that has really been working for me. I don’t keep a homemaking binder (although, I would like to someday) I do sort of meal plan, in that on Sunday, I write down a list that includes, “Use up”, “Make” (like bread/broth/beans/yogurt or whatever homemade staples we’re low on), and a “Need” list to buy at the grocery store, but also includes toiletries or other things I need to pick up. From there I jot down some breakfasts and dinners that I can make primarily from the Use up list. I feel better when I drink a lot of water, I shoot for 8 cups, and tally it on my list which I keep on the fridge. I think the “focus room” is the best tip out there. I think Fly Lady suggests this too, I’m not sure. But this is your room that you put your attention and detail in cleaning and organizing for the day, on top of your basic chores. So far, it’s been working great for me because I tend to procrastinate the details and just do a lot of quick clean ups.
Thanks so much for sharing these details and a peek into what’s been working for you! I love this and found your comment so inspiring!
Absolutely agree with focus rooms. I split up my house and yard throughout the week to enable me to be able to do my deep cleaning and “focus” on certain rooms certain days of the week and also do daily pick-up as well. Makes tackling the house and yard throughout the week more doable!
I started keeping 2 separate to do lists. I know, it sounds like more crazy and ridiculous work. I didn’t want to keep forgetting things that were big projects, etc. and that kept happening. So now I keep a running to do list on my computer of things I think of or work things/house cleaning/etc. that I need to get done at some point and I put a time frame on it on that list. Then, I write out my daily to do list based on things our current life plus the list on the computer. It helps me to not lose track of things and also focus on the important ones. Keeping the longer and further reaching to do list on the computer also helps me not to lose it anywhere. I keep it on google docs so I have access to it wherever I am.
This is a fantastic idea!
Ummmm . . . . Write down stuff on your list AFTER you’ve done it, and then cross it off!
Like!
😉 The solution to guarantee you always finish your to do list! 🙂
For some people, this actually might serve as a huge motivation to get things done.
I *star* items on my list that children can do. It is a weekly list and the older ones have finally started checking the list for what they can do before video game time. They seem to enjoy choosing a chore rather than being told what to do!
Oh, I love the idea of letting them choose a chore!
My biggest tip is to remember to carry it around with you so you can refer to it often. I don’t know how often I make a list and then leave it where I made it to go start on the first point and get distracted and realize several hours have gone by and I haven’t done anything on the list. Yet when I carry it from room to room with me I stay on task.
That’s a great word of advice! Thanks for sharing!
I use a list that has all of the days of the week on it plus a column down the right side. Having all of the days before me allows me to see where I have too much scheduled and where I have time to add more so that I can balance everything. The column down the right side are long term chores that need to be done. Each week a few of those get crossed off and the rest move to the next week. The bulk of those chores are done by my husband. They include things like pressure washing the house, painting the shed or mowing. I try to get the weeks’ list together on Sunday afternoon so that when I get up on Monday my week is already planned out and I am ready to go. Seeing the entire week on one page has been a real game changer for me.
For example-today I cook for the homeless shelter. I do it at home and my husband delivers it at the end of the day. I know that getting that cooking done is my number one priority today because they depend on me doing it and getting it there. So as I planned my week I made today a light day so that I can make the homeless shelter cooking get done easily. If I have today filled up with errands and other chores then I am starting out knowing that I probably will not get it all done and will be frustrated all day.
Yesterday my oldest daughter and her 2 yr old and 3 mo old were here all day. I knew they were coming over when I planned my week and so I made yesterday lighter too and also got right to my chores and did almost all of them before they arrived.
Before the weekly list I ended up behind and aggravated with myself most of the time. I highly recommend that everyone try it.
Such great advice! Thanks so much for sharing!
I also use a weekly list. It is so helpful to see the whole week. I can add things to other days without trying to tack it onto the current day.