The Power of the to-do List

I am going to share a few quirks with you…

I love to write with purple pens.

I love to write on yellow legal pads.

And, I LOVE to write ‘to-do’ lists with a purple pen on a yellow legal pad!!

The power of a ‘to-do’ list is amazing. I can go from feeling scattered and overwhelmed to calm and focused in a matter of minutes.

A purple pen, a yellow legal pad, and a few minutes alone with my thoughts and I can organize my whole week.

I started the practice of making ‘to-do’ lists early in my career after I was promoted and was drowning in project deadlines, requests for help, and my daily workload. I realized that if I just took an hour every Sunday night or Monday morning to organize my week, I would save hours of wasted time as I tried to accomplish what I needed to do in the midst of putting out daily fires.

My ‘to-do’ lists weren’t anything fancy. First I would list every project I was working and underneath each project the steps I needed to take that week. Then I would list any weekly or daily reports that needed to be accomplished. If it was a payroll week, I would add that to the list even though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t forget. Next, I would note any deadlines for each project that were coming up that week and finally I would list any meetings or conference calls, including the day and time.

Feeling calmer and more focused I could review my list to see what was a priority. Sometimes my list was several pages long and no matter how many hours I worked I’d never get it all done. I would put stars next to everything that absolutely had to get done by the end of the week. Then, I would transfer the deadlines, meetings and conference calls to my day-planner. The ‘to-do’ items with no stars would either be delegated to someone else, if possible, or I would let everyone know that we had to push out some dates. Since I had taken the time to organize and prioritize each project and all the related tasks it was very rare that anyone would dispute my decisions. When they did, we’d sit down and decide which of the prioritizes I had decided on could be replaced.

Organizing and prioritizing tasks by using ‘to-do’ lists for years at work really helped me as I began to build my own businesses on the side. Time management became mandatory if I wanted to accomplish everything I wanted.

So, each week I’d make a ‘to-do’ list for my day j-o-b, a ‘to-do’ list for The Dreaming Cafe and a ‘to-do’ list for all the miscellaneous projects I wanted to work on.

Last night I again made my ‘to-do’ list for this week. I am still amazed at it’s power to bring focus to what needs to be done, what wants to be done and what can wait to be done.

I do not know how I would have been able to work and travel, build The Dreaming Cafe, write a weekly newsletter, develop and teach workshops, write daily, develop relationships online and off, and have the time to invest in new passions like art journaling, painting, and web design if it weren’t for the power of a purple pen, a yellow legal pad and a ‘to-do’ list.

Here is a recap of my ‘to-do’ list process:

• List every current project I am working on.
• Underneath each project list the tasks that need to be taken to complete the project or take it to the next phase.
• List any weekly tasks. (Blog posts, newsletter, etc.)
• Do I have any deadlines? If so, I list them next to each project or task. These deadlines will often be self-imposed deadlines since this is my business and I am the boss.
• I then list any appointments, travel, teleconferences, and meetings that could impact my ability to complete my list.
• Finally I review my ‘to-do’ list and note any deadlines and place a star next to the tasks that I need to complete, or want to complete, by the end of the week.

Note: I usually use my previous weeks list of completed and un-completed tasks as a starting point to build my new ‘to-do’ list.

One other quirk I’ll share with you…when I have a really busy week, both personally and professionally, housework and family time has the potential of being neglected. So, on Saturday’s mornings I’ll make an at-home ‘to-do’ list that may include making a run to the dry-cleaners, lunch with my Mom or sister, shopping with my nieces, movies with my nephews, mopping the floors, washing clothes, grocery shopping, dinner out with my husband, etc. I prioritize this list just like I do my other ‘to-do’ lists. I can’t do everything, so making my ‘to-do’ lists helps me to do the important stuff. Needless to say, I have a lot of dust bunnies.

It may seem like I am taking my love of ‘to-do’ lists too far be doing this, but it really has the power to provide me with a sense of calm and helps me remember that sometimes it is okay to let the floors go this week so I can have lunch with my Mom. By having it on my list, and deciding to NOT do it, I can let it go and worry about it next week.

How about you? Do you use ‘to-do’ lists? Do you love them or hate them?

Tomorrow – The Power of the ‘to-do’ List Part 2