To-Do Lists That Work

Using a to-do list will help you to increase your productivity, allow you to prioritize and focus on the tasks you wish to accomplish and give you the space to decide what you really want to do and when you want to do it.

A to-do list is not a dumping ground for ideas and large projects. It is a list of individual tasks, or a specific series of tasks, that can be reasonably accomplished in a given amount of time. It can be created from a list that contains general ideas and larger projects. Each task should be actionable and not a vague idea or reference ie: “Talk to Carl re: Apex project” rather then “Carl”.

Your to-do list should include only high priority things that you realistically intend to do. You could have a longer term list and a “today” list so long as you attach a time commitment to it. The time commitment can be somewhat vague ie: morning/afternoon or this week/next week or it could be very specific such as 10am on Monday – decide which you are more comfortable with

You could keep your to-do list electronically or on paper whichever you are more comfortable with. The important this is to keep it with you at all times. You can also keep a more general “idea dumping ground” list with you to help you keep track of things that interest you today or want to consider again at some point in the future.

Your to-do list should be updated regularly. Ideally at the beginning or end of each day so that you understand what you want to accomplish on a given day. During the day refer to your list frequently to help keep track of your progress and to determine if you need to reassess some of your goals.

If something on your to-do list keeps repeating day after day it could be because:

• It is not a well defined – Ask yourself what do I mean by this task? What is one thing I could do to move this project forward a tiny bit.
• It is something that you are avoiding – Agree with yourself to work on it for only 5-minutes and then stop. You may find that although the task may not be fun it’s not as bad as you thought.
• It is not something that really needs to get done – Ask yourself “Would it be so terrible if this doesn’t get done? What would be the consequences?”
• You feel that you should do it but aren’t really committed to it. – Consider for yourself what are the costs of you doing this task? What do you need to give up to do it? Are the costs worth the reward? If they are not worth the reward can you allow yourself to let the task go?

Ten questions to help you clarify the tasks you put on your to-do list

1. What is expected of me?
2. Who is my intended audience?
3. What deliverable would be appropriate for the given audience?
4. What would be the worst thing that would happen if you did not do this task?
5. When does this task need to be completed by?
6. Am I the best person to be doing this task; is there someone better suited or more qualified?
7. Are there any decision I need to make, any materials I need to gather or conversations I need to have before I can move forward on this task?
8. What does this task mean to me? What does this task mean to the person who gave it to me?
9. What comes to mind when I think of this task? Are any of these things actionable?
10. Can I set any interim dates with others to help force my progress on this task?

by Carrie Greene, ACC, CarrieThru, LLC, ADHD Coaching & Organizing Services.