How To Crush Your Daily To-Do List in 7 Simple Steps
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Do you struggle with managing your time well? Or can’t seem to figure out the order of importance of the things you need to get done for the day?
Between working full time, being a blogger, being a wife, being a friend, etc. I had to learn how to better manage my time and I had to learn quickly. IT IS ALOT! I thought I didn’t have enough hours in the day to make it happen. However, I just didn’t have a strategy. When you don’t have a strategy to help you be productive IT WILL BE ALOT. Trust me, I know! If I don’t write it down, set goals, create a to-do list, put it on a calendar, and/or my husband then it is out of sight, out of mind.
One thing I do that helps me focus on what I need to do for the day is writing out a daily to-do list.
If you’re like “Ebony, I do all of this and I cannot get it together”, let’s talk about it!
First things first, are you being realistic about how much you can get done in a day? Also, are you creating your list while you’re midway through the day? Do you have some type of strategy to actually get the stuff you wrote down done?
Having a strategy in how I create my to-do list has changed the game. So I went to Marshalls to grab myself some cute to-do list notepads and a planner then followed these 7 tips to boost my productivity. Let’s just say, I’ve been on top of it ever since.
7 steps to help you crush your daily to-lists
Number your to-do list in order of importance.
Plan the order in which you will do them. For example, if you typically take care of your quicker tasks first, then they should be the first on your list. Then, create the list accordingly. Now listen, if you know it will take you all day to complete task #1 and it isn’t even crucial to get done on that day, then reassess your list. I typically like to complete the items on my list that take me less than 30 minutes to complete. For example, if I need to send out some emails or submit already completed work. I will knock those out. By knocking these out first, my confidence is up! I’m ready to get it and knock out my heavy-duty task.
Separate your goals and your to-do list
A weekly goals list and a daily to-do list are not the same.
I create a goals list for the week in my planner, then, I post the dates and times in my Google Calendar. I also use a whiteboard above my desk to list out my goals for the week. Knowing what I have to accomplish for the week, helps me determine what goes on my daily to-do list. Separating these two things can bring a lot of clarity.
This is not something you can do on Monday morning once work has already started to be successful at boosting your productivity. I suggest working on this on Saturday or Sunday to prepare for the week. Then as things pop up, you can adjust your to-do list.
You can write your daily to-do list the night before or in the morning with plenty of time before your workday gets started.
Put your to do list in front of you
Now we all know, out of sight out of mind, so place your to do list in front of you. Wherever your workspace is, that is where your to-list should be. It is something about constantly seeing something that turns the light bulb on to get stuff done.
Use an app that works best for you
This is for all my techie people, add your to do list on your phone! It never hurts to have multiple reminders. When you’re using an app to list out what you have to do for the day, you have the luxury of having your phone remind you at certain times of the day and giving yourself a deadline.
Categorize your to-do list
You can categorize your to-do list by work-related, personal, family, etc. You can categorize having more than one list or you can use one to-do list then write in parentheses the category or color code with pens/highlighters.
Assign yourself a due date and time
When you have a clear date and time to complete something, it helps you prioritize what you need to do in order to meet that deadline. So if you have something on your to-do list that is going to take you multiple days to complete, make sure you clearly state what date and time it should be done. Break the tasks up into parts so you can cross them off on the deadline date.
Give yourself a task limit
This goes back to being realistic in what you can complete in a day’s work. I make sure I have less than 10 items on my to-do list. I really want to say stick to 5. However, if you have small tasks that add up to 10 then it is okay.
Okay, let’s walk through this together so we can boost our productivity!
Let’s say if one of my goals for the week is to work on blog content.
I typically work on my blog content on the weekends so I can work with a clear head.
So on Saturday, creating blog content is my goal. Then, I will create my to-do list based on that goal.
After writing this to-do list, I will create a calendar invite blocking out time for me to do this. Then, I will use the reminders app on my iPhone or through Google Calendar including a time and date that I need to have this task completed.
I hope this helps. Let’s end this year off by crushing our to-do list. Remember, be realistic with your list. Don’t put more than you can accomplish in a day on the list. This will discourage you from getting stuff done.
Share some of your tips and tricks on how you mark stuff off your daily to-do list.
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