The ‘To Do’ List
The benefits of taking the time to jot down the jumble of thoughts that occupy your head is many fold. Whether you are a notepad and pen kind of person or use a digital format, writing the things down has a way of making sense from the mayhem.
The list can help you organise your time in a more productive way, meaning that jobs and tasks can be taken care of efficiently. This also may free up much needed down time so you can attand to your own needs. To read more about this, please visit my post about Self Care.
You can gain clarity from actually seeing, rather than sensing the words, and that can give you an advantage in the actual doing of the items on the list.
You may be able to see what can be delegated which could free up more time. This could also lead to some great team work or collaboration opportunities. For more insight into this, read my ‘Who’s in your team’ blog.
You might also find that your focus is easier to keep on task when you can make sense and logic out of the original choas.
It can help to get things achieved which boosts our self-esteem and confidence.
Let me explain.
First of all you will have your thoughts, lots of them, all clambering about trying to be heard. How do you know which ones to listen to? Are the ones the shout the loudest necessary more important than the ones that whisper? Chucking them all out onto a sheet of paper can really help get some clarity, understanding and focus.
Once out there – do a little more detailed work. For instance, if you have just written ‘kitchen’ as an item on the list, also add what it is you want to achieve in the kitchen; is it a scheduled deep clean, or maybe sorting a cupboard out or repainting the walls. When you have established the finer points, also add in what you need to do in terms of preparation, i.e. allocate time, gather resources, and your ‘team’, whatever is necessary to get the job done.
Being very clear on the time commitment of each task is crucial in effective time management. When you can estimate the time it will take it is then easier to take the task from the ‘to-do’ list and into your schedule with ease. If in doubt, over estimate, that way if you finish beforehand, you’ve bagged yourself some personal time!
This will help you see the gaps to add in personal time, a break, lunch, or something less taxing. No one can be at their best all the time, when everyone and everything is taking from them and there’s nothing or very little coming back. This is the road to burnout. Self-care.
Larger jobs can prove more problematic and we can find ourselves procrastinating about staring them. This can be for many reasons, like, you don’t have all the facts, equipment or knowledge to successfully complete the task. Acknowledge this and go about arming yourself correctly to succeed. Time can also be an issue and cause plans to grind to a halt. A three hour job when you don’t have a three hour window of opportunity can be a pain in the neck, however, remember that time rich jobs can be broken down and it is often much easier to find three one hour slots than one three hour slot. A great technique to employ is the Pomodoro technique.
So, you see that the to do list can be very useful as a starting point. The trick is to use that information and make a wider plan where more things become possible. A never ending to do list can be very damaging as it does not allow us to feel the thrill of completion so demotivates us.
My top tip for your to-do list – the first thing you write down should be something you have already done, that way, you will begin to feel accomplished, and you’ll be on a roll!!
Susan Grainger – Inspiring you to grow and change.