To Do: Learn How to Make Better To-Do Lists
Over the past few years, I’ve become a compulsive list maker. Without a to-do list, for example, my work day would dissolve in to a nebulous pool of grey goo. Things would get done, but more would plunge down the memory hole.
As it happens, making an effective to-do list is a learned skill. (I am by no means an expert, but I’m improving with each list.) A good to-do list will provide the necessary structure to help you get things done. A bad one does next to nothing in that effort. A really bad one can actually can make you less productive.
So how does one make a good to do list?
According to the efficiency gurus at 43 Folders, the key is in the phrasing. “Framing your work in the physical world is easiest when you imagine what’s being done, and the best trick here is to simply phrase your task in a form like: ‘verb the noun with the object.’ That means instead of reminding yourself with the mystery meat of “Year-end report,” you’d more accurately first “Download Q3 spreadsheet from work server.”
The other essential component is to break down tasks into small, easily digestible bites. This prevents cognitive overload and attending anxiety and paralysis. For example, you’d be silly to write “Close the deal” on your to-do list. That may be your goal, but you’ve got to get more specific than that. “Follow up with so and so” or “Send thank you note” are smaller yet more concrete steps you need to take in order to ‘close the deal.’
Here are my questions for you, Agent Blog Reader: What are your list strategies and/or quirks? Are your lists high- or low-tech? Do you save your long, impressive-looking lists? (I know I do.) Do you have an effective method of getting things done that you’d like to share?
Links:
To-Do List blog
43 Folders: Building a Smarter To-Do List
