I am a huge fan of the “to-do” list. So, the headline “Conquering the To-Do List” by Sue Shellenbarger on the front page of the Personal Journal section of the Wall Street Journal (December 28, 2011) really grabbed my attention.
“The first item on a highly successful to-do list: Make a better to-do list.”
Julie Morgenstern, a New York author and expert on time management says that “a well-maintained list is an essential tool for staying grounded, for saving your energy and for doing things rather than trying to remember what to do.” And, “effective to-do lists are limited to specific tasks that can be tackled right away and finished fairly soon.”
The author of the article offers 7 steps to making a to-do list:
1. Limit list to concrete tasks
2. Assign a priority to each task
3. Plan time in schedule for each task
4. Group tasks by where they will be performed (office, home, running errands)
5. List only as many items as can be realistically accomplished (in a day, week, etc.)
6. Cross off or delete completed tasks
7. Start new list
Confessions of a to-do list junkie (me):
More than once (cough-cough) I have written in my weekly planner at the top of my to-do list “refer to last week’s to-do list” and if I do something that wasn’t on my to-do list I add it to my to-do list so that I can indulge in the pleasurable experience of crossing it off!
