My Constant Struggle to Make an Effective To Do List
Are you a list maker but find that you spend more time making lists than getting things done off of the list? That was me! Since high school, I enjoyed staying organized with a planner and lists. I was able to stay on top of my to do lists until I graduated from Physician Assistant school. Marriage and my first job as a healthcare professional kept me busy!
I would make up schedules and to dos and each morning I would review it. I had to have spent hours each week redoing my plans for the day to include what I didn’t get done the prior day before I actually got to work! I constantly felt like I couldn’t relax because I always had something to do and no clue when or how I would get it all done. This continued for longer than I care to admit before I was introduced to Eisenhower’s Urgent Important Principle.
Why are to do lists important?
The book The Productivity Revolution by Marc Reklau got me introduced to the Time Management Matrix also known as Eisenhower’s Urgent Important Principle. The matrix literally transformed how I make to do lists and helped me to become much better with time management. I assign tasks from my to do lists to set block times. Since I started using this method in combination with block scheduling, I have crushed long-standing to do lists and my anxiety has reduced drastically.
What is the best way to make to do list?
Keep track of your weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Also write down any bills, housework, health needs, relaxation goals, etc. that are part of your routine. As new to do items come up add them to the master list. The best way to do this is to keep it on cloud storage such as Google Drive spreadsheets that you can access from anywhere. Next, prioritize your top three to dos for the next day every evening. Make sure to overestimate time for each task and have a plan for when emergencies come up. Finally, sort your to dos into the matrix.
How to get started with an effective to do list
You will need to divide the to do list into 4 columns. The book labels these as:
- Urgent Important
- Not Urgent Important
- Urgent Not Important
- Not Urgent Not Important
I have taken these labels and simplified them for my needs. They are as follows:
- ASAP
- Daily Health Habits
- Others/Husbands to dos
- Soon & Later to dos
What does all of this mean?
- Urgent Important aka ASAP
- This is where you place tasks that must be completed or it would cause detriment (bills, prescription refills, other deadlines such a property tax, income taxes). This is also where emergencies fall such as a leaky pipe or health crisis; not that you are scheduling it, but if it comes up that is your prioritization for the day.
- Not Urgent Important aka Daily Health Habits
- This category contains items like drinking 8 glasses of water, going for a walk/run, time for self-care, etc. These are items that can easily be ignored but are still important to your overall health, hence not urgent but important.
- Urgent Not Important aka Others/Husband
- My favorite list! This is where I write anything I am waiting on others to do or tasks that I have asked my husband to complete. Since I have delegated the tasks or they are out of my control, I keep the list off to the side and cross items off as they happen. Items on my Others list include pending packages, phone calls and emails that I am waiting for, and scheduled maintenance appointments.
- Not Urgent Not Important which I choose to call my “Soon” and “Later” To Dos rather than “not important.”
- These categories are where I place tasks that help me meet monthly and yearly goals. I place monthly goals in the Soon column and yearly goals in the Later column. This allows me to track goals for the house, my blog, my family, etc.
- Also in these categories are times for fun but non-urgent items like shopping for clothes, calling and hanging out with friends, surfing the web, Facebook, TV/movies, etc. These things are important for your overall well being but if you spend all of your time in this category, your goals and important items would not get done.
I realize that this may seem obvious but If you aren’t thinking of your list by prioritization, it is easy to not pay the bills or address the dripping sink and do something more enjoyable off of the list such as a bath, a phone call, or making your child’s yearly photo album. It was this trap that I fell into, I was getting things done, but not setting time limits or priorities to the to dos that I was focusing on.
Tips for Successful To Do Lists
Once I have my prioritized lists, I place them into the time slots on my block schedule. I have a whole post and template about block scheduling here.
If you are like me and like a physical copy of everything, I would suggest you use these erasable pens that come in pretty colors and actually erase!
Making an effective to do list can literally change your life! Prioritizing your todos using the matrix and placing them into a block schedule will make you a more efficient parent. It gives you the tools you need to get on top of and restore peace to your life.
