Last week we covered To-Do lists in general and why they are so important. Still, many people avoid using them because they say it takes too much time to write out a list every day. Have you ever thought about how much time you waste every day trying to remember what to do and how to fit it all into your schedule? A written To-Do list is like a map. It lets you see where you need to go and helps you decide how to get there.
If all the repetitious writing is what bogs you down, here's how one woman solved that problem: She made an 8 ½ by 11 inch chart and divided it into three columns. She wrote these headings across the top: Do Today, Deadline Projects and Sometime Projects. She uses one inch post-it notes to name the things she needs to accomplish, organizing them by their urgency. If it needs to be done today, she posts it in the today column. If there is an upcoming deadline, she notes the date on the slip and posts it in order of urgency in the Deadline column. Projects she'd really like to do someday, but which have no immediate urgency, she posts in the Sometime column. As she completes a project, she removes the note. She saves and reuses the notes which name routine household tasks like cooking, vacuuming, carpool, etc. so she rarely has to recopy them. She uses the same system at work. As projects increase in urgency she moves them to the appropriate column. This keeps in front of her all she need to accomplish and gives her a map of what to do first.
Whatever kind of To-Do system works for you, it's important to have a written plan that will help you organize your time.
I am new to this website and found this blog. If you are computer savvy To Do lists are too easy. I type up the list with the due date and as the job is done, delete it. Those that need to be done immediately are typed in red, those next week in blue and those without a date in black. And I sort them by color. Easy to read and easy to see what needs to be done first.
Judy Warmington, Woman Time Management (owner) -- Busy wife, mother of three adult/married children, grandmother of 10 (5 boys and 5 girls!), former high school teacher (M.A. from W.M.U.), Speaker, Author, Radio Personality, and Trainer of Professional Organizers.
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