Spring Cleaning Part Two: To-Do Lists

Spring is officially here and hopefully you have had a chance to clean out the office. So now is the time to implement the procedures you will use to help keep yourself organized!

At the end of the last blog post I mentioned having file folders for days of the week to help keep papers organized and off your desk. This is very helpful in keeping important and frequently needed papers within arms reach. But what about tasks that don’t have documents or papers associated with them?

Introducing the oldest, simplest yet most commonly misused organizational tool, the to-do list. Yes, this isn’t revolutionary but are you using one? Most people agree that to-do lists can help them keep organized but they find it difficult to properly utilize one . Or they find it difficult to maintain using a to-do list.

Like anything else in your life, to create a habit it needs to be simple for you to use. Enter the digital to-do list. There is a never-ending list of apps that you can install across all of your devices to help you stay organized. Asana, Evernote or simply the to-do list native to your device. The important thing about going digital with your to-do list is that you like the app. You should spend some time getting to know the app before judging it. And consider trying out a free or trial version before committing to paying for an app you may not enjoy the feel of later. To create the habit your going to be using the app consistently, you need to want to use it. If you don’t like the app you will never use it and wont commit to your new more organized way of life.

Once you have chosen an app you need to organize the app how it makes sense to you. Again going back to the idea that you need to use it to create the habit. In general a good layout for any app is to organize your list in chronological order. I generally suggest four main categories: Now, Tomorrow, Next Week, and Later.

When you organize your to-do list as suggested here it makes it easy to look at your list and instantly find something you should be doing. Taking less time to find that said thing you should be working on will give you more time to actually work on the project. This system also requires you to spend 5 – 10 minutes at the end of your day reviewing your lists and moving items from Tomorrow to Now and so on. This helps you stay on top of your task list and makes it less likely you will miss important tasks.

The last important aspect of using a to-do list is to create separate lists for personal and business. But use the to-do list for both. It’s just as important to remember to pick up chicken breasts for dinner, as it is to file that expense report with the accounting department.

It takes time to develop a habit, so try and commit to using your new to-do list for at least two weeks. And don’t worry if over time you find changing the system works better for you. At the end of the day it’s important to use the system that works best for you and your life.