{organisation week} how do you do that to do list thing that you do

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.

~ Mark Twain

No week dedicated to organisation could not include a post on to do lists.

I know I’m not the only one who puts things on the to do list after I’ve actually done them, just to cross them off.

I have three places for my to do lists ~ Teux Deux {online and app}, the task list in my Google Calendar, and good old scraps of paper.

For those times when things are getting a bit overwhelming, I make sure I write myself a list for the next day so I don’t forget things.

The best system is the one you design for you ~ whether it is your computer, phone or a notebook. And while I don’t practice what I preach, here are some tips for writing a good to do list {based on my extensive reading on always clicking on links that mention the words “to do list”}.

• Organise and prioritise ~ put like tasks together so you can knock them over together, like errands,  and look at your list and decide what is most important and what has a deadline. I find it good to number them or list them in order.
• Keep it simple ~ there is nothing more deflating than an unachievable to do list. If your list is as long as your arm, then break it down. Pick five things for the next day and get them done, if you have time to do more than great. If not, at least you got your list done.
• Break it up ~ sometimes that list is as long as your arm, but take a look at it. Some things would be right now, some things might be in a state of limbo, some things might be better suits to a “someday” list. Check out this post on staying on track.
• Get it out ~ for me, sometimes the list is a mind dump, a way to get a heap of thoughts out and then organise those thoughts. Particularly at night, you don’t want to go to bed with all those thoughts still swirling around in your head. In this post, it is referred to a “bucket” of pending ideas and tasks ~ that’s a great description for it.
• All work and no play ~ add in stuff you want to do on your list. It might be the fifth thing on your list, or perhaps the sixth. But add to the satisfaction of getting things done by putting something fun on there ~ a favourite creative pursuit, a call to a friend or a walk around the block. If it’s on the list …

What’s your top to do list tip?

Further reading:

• Sarah Wilson on being strategically incompetent
• The secret everybody ought to know
• Get the most from your to do list
• Smarter to do lists
• The power of handwritten lists