How to write an effective to do list

I may get paid commission for purchases made after clicking a link in this post.

A ‘to do’ list is a great productivity tool… if you write a good one! The trouble is so often ‘to do’ lists are not well written and end up making you LESS productive not MORE productive. Read on to find out how to write an effective ‘to do’ list…

 

What does your ‘to do’ list look like right now? Is it neat and short? Long and scribbly? Covered with doodles? On a scrap of paper? In a nice notebook? On your phone? Do you use a fancy app? Or do you not have one at all?

Personally, I think that having a ‘to do’ list is one of the most effective productivity tools there is… if it’s a GOOD ‘to do’ list! In fact, I include ‘to do’ lists as one of my key components of The Smart Blogger’s Toolkit in my ebook BLOG SMARTER NOT HARDER.

The problem is not all to do lists were created equally. A GOOD ‘to do’ list is your ticket to greater productivity, less stress, more results and ultimately achieving your goals. A BAD ‘to do’ list is the exact opposite – it reduces productivity, creates stress and doesn’t help you see results or achieve your goals. So how exactly do you write an effective to do list? Here are 10 tips…

 

Know your goals

I talk about this A LOT, but for me it really is the key to EVERYTHING. So many people either never think about their goals. Or they think about their goals but then don’t translate that back to their ‘to do’ lists. Have a look at your to do list right now – does it contain clear actions that you know will take you one more step towards fulfilling your blogging goals? Or a jumbly mish mash of everything and anything?

If it’s the latter, take some time out to think about what you are really trying to achieve with your blog and what actions you need to take in order to achieve those goals. Then look at your to do list afresh. Is everything on that list serving those goals? If not, cross it off!

READ MORE >>> Goal setting for bloggers

 

Keep it short and achievable

It is so tempting to just write EVERYTHING on your to do list. Every idea that pops into your head. Every action that you ever need to take. Everything you need to remember. All those ‘one day’ and ‘it might be nice to…’ tasks… But that sort of ‘to do’ list is the sort of ‘to do’ list that gets ignored, because it’s just too darn SCARY!!!!

Buuuut… it IS helpful to keep a list of everything. It stops you forgetting things, it helps reduce stress and it helps keep you focused. So what do we do?

My top tip is to have MORE THAN ONE LIST. Have a great jumbly list of everything if you want to, but don’t use that list as your daily ‘to do’ list. Only write on your daily ‘to do’ list things you plan to do THAT DAY. Put everything else somewhere else entirely.

I actually find it helpful to have 4 lists: an ‘everything’ list, a ‘this month’ list, a ‘this week’ list and a ‘today’ list. I start with my ‘everything’ list and decide what I need to do this month. Then I look at my ‘this month’ list and decide which week I am going to assign to each action. Then I look at my ‘this week’ list and allocate which day I am going to do each action on. Then each day I only have a small number of set tasks. When I’ve finished them, I’m done!

TOP TIP: Don’t write more on your ‘to do’ list than you can achieve in one day

 

Focus on the priorities

Once you have your neat, short, achievable ‘to do’ list. Focus on the priorities. Think: ‘if I could only do one of these things today, what would it be?’ and do that first. Then think ‘if I could only do two of these things today, what would the other one be?’ and do that second.

Not only does this help you focus on the most important activities of the day, rather than getting stuck on the peripherals, but it also means, if you do write a to do list that is too long and unachievable (as we all tend to do!), you will at least have achieved the most important things on it by the end of the day!

 

Number your ‘to do’ list

Such a simple system, but such an effective one! As you think about your priorities number them! So, mark the number one priority #1, the number two priority #2, the number three priority #3 and so on. Then when you come to working through your to do list, start with #1 and don’t even think about any of the other things on your list, focus all your attention on #1 until it’s done. Then move on to #2 and so on…

Now you may be thinking, yes but Eb, what about email? What about social media? DON’T LET THEM DISTRACT YOU! Instead build them into your ‘to do’ list. Give them a number – maybe ‘check email’ is your #3. Once you have achieved task number 1 and 2, then your next task is email. Focus all your attention on email. Then when you are done, switch email (or social media or whatever) off and don’t turn it on again until your next scheduled time.

READ MORE >>> How to sort out your overflowing inbox for good!
READ MORE >>> 10 good email habits for greater productivity

 

Give projects separate list

One reason why to do lists can get cluttered and messy is that we have a tendency to include every action from every project. DON’T DO THAT! If you are working on a project with multiple actions, write a separate ‘to do’ list for that project. Write each step and stage down in the order you need to tackle it and each time you work on that project, work down your list.

Then on your daily ‘to do’ list, all you need to write is either the name of the project (and then you refer to the project list for whatever action needs doing that day) or the name of the specific action(s) you plan to do on that project today.

So say for example you are planning to start and grow your email list. You may have 10 or more activities you would like to do – maybe things like: research email service providers, create sign up forms, write an automated welcome sequence, create a free opt-in offer…

On your daily to do list either write ‘email project’ and give yourself a time limit, or simply write the one activity from your project list you want to achieve that day on your ‘to do’ list, for example ‘research how to create a welcome sequence’ or ‘write a rough draft of free opt-in offer’.

This way your main ‘to do’ list won’t get cluttered with every step of every project, AND you will be able to keep track of projects better too.

READ MORE >>> Project management for bloggers: the skill you didn’t know you needed!

 

Use whatever system works for you

Personally, I have a pen and paper / spreadsheet system that works incredibly well for me. For daily planning, I have a diary – the sort that has one page per day – and I write my daily ‘to do’ list in there. This means it’s quick and easy to use, easily portable, it’s all together in one place (so I can easily flip back and look at previous ‘to do’ lists), and if anything comes in that needs to be done on a specific day in the future, I can quickly note that down on the correct day.

For weekly/monthly planning and one off project ‘to do’ lists, I use spreadsheets. Each month has its own tab on my yearly planning spreadsheet and each big project has a tab on my main content calendar. This allows me to easily keep track of projects and plans, but also means I don’t get side-tracked by tasks that I am not supposed to be doing this week/month. If an idea pops into my head for a project, I note it down on the appropriate project tab and then get back to what I was doing.

And for process checklists for regular ‘projects’ (writing blog posts, sharing videos, creating new opt-in offers etc.) I prefer to use CoSchedule.

But use whatever system works for you: paper, notebook, phone, Word document, calendar, app – whatever makes writing to do lists easy and allows you to easily access it.

READ MORE >>> 10 ways to stop wasting time and actually get stuff done!

 

Don’t make your system too fancy

One caveat to the above. Don’t make your system too fancy – or you will never stick to it! The simpler you make your to do list writing system, the more you are likely to actually do it.

I have tried using phone and computer-based systems, but I find they are too cumbersome and take too long and I end up not using them and writing it on a piece of paper anyway! For me the diary/spreadsheet system is so much quicker and easier, which means I actually do it!!

We are all different though, so go with whatever works best for you – Mr G prefers to use his phone, for example. And whilst I much prefer pen and paper for my daily ‘to do’ lists, I do find CoSchedule* works better for my process checklists.

READ MORE >>> How to use CoSchedule to get more done in less time on your blog
READ MORE >>> How process checklists will make you more productive (and how to make them!)

 

Write your ‘to do’ list the night before

This is a BIG tip. Honestly, when I started doing it, it was a total game changer – for so many reasons!

Firstly, I think my brain is in a better place the night before. If I write my to do list in the morning, I find I am more likely to write the things I WANT to do rather than the things I really NEED to do, whereas if I write my to do list the night before, I am more sensible!

Secondly, it helps me take time off – I make myself write my to do list for the next day at about the time I should stop work. Usually it makes me realise that I actually CAN stop work. That there’s nothing really critical left to do today, nothing that can’t be left until tomorrow and so I stop and have time off in the evenings. If I don’t do this, I tend to just keep working until late in the evening.

Thirdly, it helps me rest and sleep better. Once I’ve written my to do list for tomorrow, I don’t need to worry. I know tomorrow is all planned and sorted and I can relax and take time off in the evening and go to bed at a sensible time. And I don’t worry about work during the night, because I have already written my beautiful short, achievable, prioritised ‘to do’ list and so mentally it’s all taken care of – I have nothing to worry about.

Finally, it helps me hit the ground running the next day. I know myself all to well. If I don’t have a clear, numbered to do list I will faff and flap for the first hour before getting down to business. But if my to do list is already written, all I have to do is look at item number 1 and get started.

 

Don’t be distracted

Once you have your beautiful to do list written, stick to it! Don’t allow yourself to be distracted! Just check what task #1 is. Do that and don’t do anything else until #1 is done. You will be amazed how much more productive you are if you just stick to one task at a time and work steadily down your to do list. Remember you have done all the hard work writing your to do list, so trust it and don’t get distracted! And don’t try to multi-task! Mono-tasking (focusing on 1 task at a time) is WAY more productive!

For more on mono-tasking, check out this post: How to get more done in less time on your blog

 

Rewrite your ‘to do’ list if necessary

One criticism I hear a lot about ‘to do’ lists is they are inflexible and restrictive. But they don’t have to be! I talk a lot about not letting things like emails and social media distract you from your ‘to do’ list, but sometimes ‘to do’ lists DO need to be rewritten. Sometimes something comes in that is a higher priority than everything else on your list and needs to be done first. If that happens, don’t just be distracted by this new priority. Stop and rewrite your to do list. And consider what you need to cross off your list in order to fit in this new priority. Then work through your new ‘to do’ list in the same way as before.

Obviously sometimes life happens and rewriting your ‘to do’ is not sensible or even possible – if your child breaks their leg – don’t stop to write a new ‘to do’ list! Go look after your child… And don’t even think about ‘to do’ lists until you’ve taken care of them! But if it’s about work priorities, it is usually better to rewrite your to do list rather than simply ignoring it.

 

Reward yourself!

My final tip for writing effective ‘to do’ lists is to create rewards for yourself for completing them. So, for example when you have completed everything on your (short, achievable) ‘to do’ list do something fun:  read a book, go for a run, watch your favourite programme, take a bath, bake a cake, play with your kids – whatever would be a reward for you.

Think how pleasant and productive your day would be if it looked like this:

• do everything on my (short, achievable and goal oriented) to do list
• write tomorrow’s to do list
• have a reward
• go to bed on time

It’s a great feeling when it works out like that!

 

Get my FREE productivity guide for bloggers

 

More on this topic…

How to do a digital declutter
How to get more done in less time on your blog
10 ways to be a more productive blogger
How to organise your blogging week
Daily, weekly and monthly blogging to do lists

 

Don’t miss a thing!

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or why not subscribe to Productive Blogging and get blogging and productivity tips straight to your inbox every week?

 

Pin this post to read later

*This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!