As a mom, wife and just in general busy person, I tend to always have a million things that I have to get done at any given time. Usually I keep these tasks all in my head, running through them countless times during the week while realizing that I’m spending more time THINKING about them, rather than actually DOING any of them! This is when writing a To-Do list can help.
1. Be Realistic. Decide if your To-Do list is for today or for the week. Once you’ve decided on the timeline, keep this in mind as you write down your tasks.
Sometimes it can be helpful to write two lists. The first list includes everything you can possibly think of that you need to get done, while the second list is the more realistic list that includes the tasks you want to accomplish specifically that day.
2. Set Yourself Up For Success. Don’t write down everything you want to accomplish in your lifetime. Only write down tasks that you know are humanly possible to accomplish within the time frame you’ve set. If your washing machine takes 2 hours to finish 1 load of clothes, writing down 12 loads of laundry wouldn’t be reasonable or possible.
3. Break Tasks Into Smaller Jobs. Be Specific. For example, don’t write down “Laundry,” because it could mean every last piece of laundry in your whole house, car, garage and the towel you forgot about in the backyard, but instead write each type of laundry you intend to wash that day. For example, “Cloth Diaper Laundry,” “Husband’s Socks,” and “Towels.”
Another example is instead of writing “Kitchen,” write down “Kitchen: floors, counters, unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, and take out trash.” When you are specific, you are allowing more opportunities to be successful with checking tasks off of your to-do list as you go about your day.
4. Celebrate Your Accomplishments. At the end of the day, read through your list and make sure you’ve checked every task you accomplished that day. Add tasks that weren’t on the list but that you did anyway and check it off your list!
5. Most Importantly… Start every to-do list with “Write a to-do list” and check it off your list when you finish writing it! Other examples would be adding the more simple day to day tasks that you do, and maybe never give yourself credit for doing, on a regular basis.
It is important to build yourself up to feel successful. This sense of accomplishment will serve as motivation to you as you see your to-do list filled with check marks.
What’s on your to-do list today? After reading this article, how will your to-do list change?
