Rise & Organize

These guidelines are taken from Kirsten Lagatree's "Keep It Together"; a fabulous reference for "Solutions For Everyday Life".

A good daily to-do list gets short-term tasks out of your brain, where they can float into dark crevices and be lost forever, and puts them in an easily retrievable location, physical or virtual. Writing any to-do list brings an immediate snes of virtue and accomplishment. Writing an effective to-do list increases your chances of actually getting some essential tasks done. There's a subtle difference between any list and an effective list, and that's what this checklist is about.

1. Make it real.

Your daily to-do list is not your life plan. It's a list of things you need to do today. Lose weight doesn't belong on it; buy toilet paper does.

2. Make it simple.

If a task needs an explanation, it doesn't belong on this to-do list. Items on this list should be self-explanatory and consist of a single action.

3. Distinguish between a task and a project.

A project is "plan the Thanksgiving party"; a task is "buy the turkey." Projects don't belong on daily to-do lists; they're too big and daunting. . . Break projects down into discrete, doable tasks.

4. Be specific.

Don't write "touch base with Joe"; write "call Joe." Don't write "dinner"; write "buy hot dogs, potato chips, apple pie, and ice cream."

5. Stick to "next actions."

A to-do list is a commitment to short-term tasks, not long-term goals. Limit your entries to the next thing you need to do to move a project along. If this is the Monday of Thanksgiving week, "buy turkey" should be on your to-do list, but "determine the seating plan" should not. The seating plan may appear on Thursday's list, but it's not the next thing you need to do today.

6. Prioritize.

The lack of prioritizing is often the bane of an effective to-do list. Start with the items that will give you the biggest payoff in terms of accomplishment. Rank lower the tasks you'd like to get done but that will have less impact on your overall productivity, such as sorting junk mail.

7. Give yourself enough, but not too much, to do.

The longer the list, the more daunting it may seem, and you are less likely to take it seriously enough to act on it. On the other hand, putting a few more items on the list than you think you can achieve might be a good motivator, lending a sense of urgency to your progress throughout the day.

8. Banish or subdue the repeat offender.

If the same item appears on your list day after day without your acting on it, it should be reconsidered or eliminated. For example, if "call Joe" has been on your lists for the past two weeks, you need to consider why you are not calling him. Once you identify the reason for your inaction, you should decide whether you can overcome the issue and make the call or if you should simply eliminate "call Joe" from your list.

9. Keep your list in one place.

Decide where your to-do list will reside: on your paper day planner, on your wall calendar, in a separate pocket notebook, in your [PDA/smart phone], or on your computer. If you write your list on whatever piece of paper is handy, you're sending yourself a message that this is a grab-as-grab-can list, not a serious commitment to necessary tasks. Note to technophiles: If you love electronic gizmos, choose one for your to-do list, but only one. If some items live on your computer and other in your PDA, some will get done and others won't. If you're really more comfortable with paper and pencil, stick to that.