How do you make your to-do list work??

[Moxie]

I'd love your best to-do list tips. I can make an awesome list (daily, monthly, long-term, you name it!) but I rarely get things crossed off. I know I need to look at my list more often. What else works to make progress?? I'm tired of tredding water.

[Ripley]

I'm a great planner and list-maker, too. I love it. I find it cathartic. It's fun, even.

What I don't like, or do well, is to follow through on all of that fun planning and list-making.

 

For me, I need accountability.

And frankly, to be pushed to the wire - up against a deadline of some sort.

Some days that means inviting people over so the house will get a thorough clean.

Or it means volunteering in the evenings so I'm motivated to stay on top of cooking.

Even little deadlines, like adding my "wishes" to the to-do list, will help.

So I list in order of priority, and I'll add a Starbucks run between items 4 and 6.

Or a quick ride around the lake between home school teaching and grading.

It keeps me moving down the list because there's some small reward in doing so (outside of finishing the list itself).

 

[HS Mom in NC]

I look at my lists morning, noon and night.

 

My lists are prioritized with the most important thing at the top and I work from the top down. So are my lesson plans.  I know what the most important things are and what things are less important.

 

I usually don't start another task until I finish the first one.  That's harder to do with littles, but mine are older now so I'm very consistent about that. 

 

I rarely answer my phone when it rings.  I almost always let it go to voicemail and answer calls later when tasks are done.

 

I schedule tasks and meals based on the activities on my calendar.  There are daily chores for everyone that are assigned for the month and everyone 6 and older is on the rotation. Children 2-5 are working along side mom under close supervision.   M-F everyone has an assigned weekly chore or bi-weekly chore based on their school and activities schedules. It's written down on a large calendar in the kitchen so I don't have to think about it and no one can claim they don't know what they should be doing.  School first then chores then free time.  That order for everyone. No one over the age of 6 should be without daily and weekly chores because they help create the need for chores and they can help do the chores.

 

A reason to do something trumps any number of reasons not to do it. I think this is a important mental shift lots of people need to make. They also need to teach their children this.  Too many people will ignore all the reasons to do something if they can find one reason not to.    There are exceptions when something just can't be done due to serious illness, severe emergencies, etc.  Those are rare.

 

"I don't want to" and "I don't feel like it" are not good enough reasons to not do something.  Children do what they want.  Adults do what they should. 

 

Screen time is used strategically around here as benefits mom.  I don't apologize for that.  No one needs screen time and when it suits me to have a child sitting in front of one, I do that.  If you keep better quality viewing content around you don't have to apologize for that either.

[Moxie]

What am I doing instead?? Taking care of kids, folding laundry, making lunch, dropping kids off at something, normal everyday stuff that I don't write on my to-do list.

 

Priority lists have never worked for me. Folding laundry isn't more important than other things on the list but it needs done, kwim?

[TammyinTN]

I make my to do list before I go to bed each night.  I know first thing what must be accomplish right off the bat.  

 

For me...I have to get up early --6am and get started.  I have until 9am when school start to get as much as I can done and be dressed and ready for teaching.  

 

Then after classes 12pm then lunch,  I tackle everything else I can as quickly as possible.  

 

 

[Georgiana Daniels]

When I figure it out I'll let you know :P

 

I'm a champ at making lists....not so much at crossing things off...

[Ewe Mama]

I keep my lists short, no more than three things to accomplish in addition to my regular stuff (laundry, dishes, cooking, school). Sometimes my list is a big project that will last a week, like painting a room in the house. The tasks are broken down into bite sized pieces that I know I can accomplish in a reasonable amount of time. I may take a while to cross off the big project, but I can get a bigger sense of achievement when I am finally done.

 

I am a project person. My to do list could become a project in and of itself, if I allow it to. :D

 

I can procrastinate with the best of them and frequently do when I start planning. My chore charts are works of art, but I rarely get to do my own chores because I have so much fun planning them and just never get around to doing things like cleaning the ceiling fans.

 

I am at a good place in our life because my children are now old enough to handle the more mundane tasks while I jump into bigger projects. In the past week I have reclaimed a large garden that was overrun by weeds and planted about 30 perennials in it. It took about a week and a half of working on it an hour here and there, but it is finally looking the way I had envisioned.

 

I love projects! Just don't make me scour the grape juice stained kitchen counters for the third time this week.

[Miss Tick]

Have a matter list somewhere but keep your to-do list limited to just 2 or 3 things. Be sure those are single-step items, too. No projects. If you have anything that needs more than one step to accomplish, list the steps separately!

[Luckymama]

I make my to-do list for the day the night before, like Tammy :). On it are always school stuff (teaching, grading, planning, prep), some house-related things, exercise, and any errands that need doing. I add two or three or four other items, one of which is usually a continuing project for the week.

 

I look at my list with my first cup of coffee and then throughout the day. My goal is to have everything checked off by the time I'm cooking dinner (we eat late :D). If something isn't done it gets pushed to the following day.

[ajfries]

I'm still loving my bullet journal, but I need to figure out a way to incorporate looking at it throughout the day. I think maybe I'll look it over every time I drink something caffeinated. That way once the caffeine kicks in, I know what to do with the extra push :)

[Luckymama]

I'm still loving my bullet journal, but I need to figure out a way to incorporate looking at it throughout the day. I think maybe I'll look it over every time I drink something caffeinated. That way once the caffeine kicks in, I know what to do with the extra push :)

I would be lost without my bullet journal! I keep it open on a corner of the kitchen table when dd and I work. Maybe you could leave yours open on a counter where no little fingers can reach :)

[MomtoCandJ]

I use the "Who's going to tackle ____ with me" thread :) I have ADD issues and have a habit of throwing away to do lists, well I can't very well throw away my phone so it works.

[KungFuPanda]

I find that EVERY cleaning system is effective if you actually DO it. I've learned to accept my feast-or-famine ways. I know if I make a list I'll have about two days during the week where I'm motivated to conquer A LOT . . . I am a Super a Woman on those days. I'll have 2-3 'normal' days where a respectable amount of work is done. I'll have at least one bumbly day where I move about in circles and accomplish very little, and at least one day where I don't even try. I've been trying to do lots of laundry on the days I just give up because I can sit on my lazy butt and watch TV. DH is too impressed by the mountains of folded clothes to realize I've done nothing else.

 

For this reason, an index card system works really well for me. I just shuffle the cards to suit my energy level that day.

[chocolatechip]

I'm supposed to make a list?!? And FINISH it???  :svengo:

[aggieamy]

What am I doing instead?? Taking care of kids, folding laundry, making lunch, dropping kids off at something, normal everyday stuff that I don't write on my to-do list.

 

Priority lists have never worked for me. Folding laundry isn't more important than other things on the list but it needs done, kwim?

 

I put those things on my list so I get a little boost when they're done and it makes me want to get something else finished.  Kind of a self-motivating list.  

[chocolatechip]

I keep my lists short, no more than three things to accomplish in addition to my regular stuff

 

(snip)

I like this idea. It sounds doable to me. Instead of overwhelming. 

[Gentlemommy]

What am I doing instead?? Taking care of kids, folding laundry, making lunch, dropping kids off at something, normal everyday stuff that I don't write on my to-do list.

 

Priority lists have never worked for me. Folding laundry isn't more important than other things on the list but it needs done, kwim?

 

It sounds like you ARE getting a 'list' done...I suspect that most people with a list have folding laundry, taking kids places, and making meals ON their list. How many extra things are you wanting to get done? Maybe writing down what you DO do will help you see all you ARE accomplishing? You also have five kids, half of which are young and require supervision, help, and redirection fairly consistently. Maybe your expectations are really high???

I have only three kids, but my lists are generally short, maybe 5-6 things for chores, most of which are normal, everyday things like making dinner/folding laundry/loading the dishwasher. I have 1-2 'extra' chores, things that I don't do everyday, like vacuuming a room, or cleaning the shower. My kids also help, and are given a fair share of chores. That helps.

[Jaybee]

I do stuff. Then I write it down on a list. Then I mark it off. Then I feel good about what all I accomplished.

:leaving:

[fairfarmhand]

My daily list is short, usually less than 5 items.

 

I use rewards like screen time for myself when I get one or two things done.

 

Put that bad boy on the fridge or on a marker board.

 

Usually, my list is stuff I will a. forget if I don't write it down or b. hate doing but must make myself do. Like filing, paying bills or phone calls.

[LLMom]

I am great at planning and making lists too; it is the follow through that is difficult for me.  I lack motivation to actually do it.  I'm a bit lazy and something like the computer, reading, or playing games is so much more fun.  Self-control and lack of desire especially when it comes to the unpleasant stuff like mopping and cleaning the fridge.

[TammyS]

I'd love your best to-do list tips. I can make an awesome list (daily, monthly, long-term, you name it!) but I rarely get things crossed off. I know I need to look at my list more often. What else works to make progress?? I'm tired of tredding water.

 

I've been using a bullet journal lately and I really like it.  It combines my need for flexibility with my need for a paper "planner".  You might want to Google it.

 

The thing that I do is keep it at hand and open to the current day all of the time.  I have a long list at the beginning of the month of "to-do" that just get dropped there as I think of them.  Then I make a new list each day, that is just for that day.  I will put anything immediate that comes up, as well as stuff from the month list if that day is a good day to get it done.  But most important is to just keep it at hand, on the arm of the sofa or in my purse, all the time.

[TammyS]

What are you doing if you are not doing things on the list????

 

Actually this is a really good question.  I have found that we sometimes are much more productive than we realize doing other things not on the list.  I find it helpful to also write down stuff on my list, after the fact, just so I know what I spent my time on.  If I did a lot I can feel good about my productivity.  I can also ask myself if that was the best use of time for that day. 

[Joyofsixreboot]

I heard a tip once to make your list and then number the 1 through 3 most important, non-negotiable, have to be done things.  Those are what you do.  Anything else is gravy.  I myself don't make lists I just know what's gotta be absolutely done and that's all I worry about.

[TammyS]

I am great at planning and making lists too; it is the follow through that is difficult for me.  I lack motivation to actually do it.  I'm a bit lazy and something like the computer, reading, or playing games is so much more fun.  Self-control and lack of desire especially when it comes to the unpleasant stuff like mopping and cleaning the fridge.

 

I give the jobs I hate most as punishments.  When my son was going through a particularly obnoxious phase....my fridge was never so clean!

 

[MBM]

What helped me was to start following advice which I read about in Carol Dweck's book Mindset. The advice is based on the research of Peter Gollwitzer and colleagues. For me, this was *the* missing piece of the puzzle when it came to actually carrying out my goals. I'll retype it here in case you'd like to try it. This is from Mindset which I highly recommend:

 

Every day, people plan to do difficult things, but they don't do them. They think, "I'll do it tomorrow," and they swear to themselves that they'll follow through the next day. Research by Peter Gollwitzer and his colleagues shows that vowing, even intense vowing, is often useless. The next day comes and the next day goes.

 

What works is making a vivid, concrete plan.  . . .

 

Think of something you need to do, something you want to learn, or a problem you have to confront. What is it? Now make a concrete plan. When will you follow through on your plan? Where will you do it? How will you do it? Think about it in vivid detail.

 

These concrete plans--plans you can visualize--about when, where, and how you are going to do something lead to really high levels of follow-through, which, of course, ups the chances of success.

 

So the idea is not only to make a growth-mindset plan, but also to visualize, in a concrete way, how you're going to carry it out.

 

 

 

[TammyS]

I have been there and back with lists, and I have discovered that the list needs to be limited to only 3 or 4 things to do that day.

 

I pick one, set the timer for 15 min. and work on that one item. Then a set the timer for another 15 min. and do something I want to do (usually something online.) Re-set the timer for another 15 min. and either finish the first item on the list that I started, or move on to another one.

 

I try to finish the tiems before 9 am during the school year because I'm really tired in the afternoon or evening, and there's dinner to make, etc.

 

:iagree:

 

I have two lists in my bullet journal.  One of things that need to be done - eventually.  The other of things that need to be done today.  It is usually 3-10 things long (when 10 several are usually very small, like sending an email), and may or may not contain things from the long term list.

[Seasider]

I once attended a management seminar in which the "expert" stated that a person (executive? High level manager? Certainly Busy Home Executive counts!) can really only expect to tackle a certain number of things per day. Too many things on the list results in a sort of mental paralysis.

 

It's been many years and I can't make any statements about the science behind this, but I find it true for myself. I use six as the usual magic number. I keep a running to-do list in a spiral notebook and add when things come to mind. Each day I approach the list, select about 6 things and make a different short list or index card. Some days - really hard ones - I name just one or two things that I know will take all the energy I have.

 

Some things naturally rise to the top because they are urgent. This helps to determine if there's a pattern - is XYZ a recurrent urgent to-do item? If so, I try to learn to anticipate it better.

 

Some questions to ask yourself as you look at items on the list (thinking the Getting Things Done guy gets credit for these):

 

Does this HAVE to be done?

 

Does this have to be done NOW?

 

Am *I* the one who must do it, or can it be delegated? Can/should I pay someone else to do it?

 

What can I do to make this task unnecessary/easier next time?

 

Also, I have one more list in the back of my to-do notebook labeled "projects." These are things I need to/would like to do, but that will necessarily take a big chunk of time, maybe over several days (ie, "paint the piano" is one of those things). I keep an eye on that list and plan time to work on those as the schedule allows (or until they become urgent!). It keeps things off the regular to-do list that might make it otherwise seem completely overwhelming.

 

HTH

[SKL]

I used to include a lot of little things (as well as medium and big things) so I would have the satisfaction of crossing things off.  :)  It can be demotivating to have a list that changes very slowly.

 

Along these lines, can you break down the big things into smaller things and list them in order?  For example, I need to clean out my basement.  That includes a lot of smaller tasks.  If I list the smaller tasks, chances are I can get a few of the sub-tasks crossed out in a day and I am likely to finish the entire project sooner than I otherwise would.

 

The really long-term goals should go on a separate list that you use to inspire what tasks go on your to-do list as time passes.