How do you make up your daily to-do list? Do you just randomly toss tasks onto a list or is there a strategy in your mind?
To-do lists, or Action Lists as I call them, are a pain in most people’s butts! We use them to keep track of our huge amount of work but they can be quite depressing to look at. More often than not, most of the tasks on our list are there because someone else wants something done.
Action – Here are a few of the many ways to manage an Action List:
Link at least two consecutive tasks together. Avoid doing something from project A, then B, then back to A again. Keep one project or theme flowing for as long as you can.
Break a long Action List into smaller lists. Two small pieces of paper are more motivating than one long one.
Give yourself a breather every 45-60 minutes. Stand up and stretch or walk around for a moment or two. Despite popular myth, adult attention spans for most non-entertainment activities are less than an hour.
At the end of your day, rewrite your list so it only includes outstanding tasks. Do not keep ratty chunks of paper with scrawled notes or scratched off lines.
And take 10 minutes to plan and prioritize your Action List for tomorrow.
These techniques do not take a lot of time or concentration but they can make all the difference to your sense of motivation and achievement.