I’m a huge fan of To-Do lists. I meticulously write them out and design my day with enthusiasm. Admittedly, I’m biased about the topic, but I think a To-Do list may be able to help you as well.
I adopted this habit slowly and with some reluctance. But I work two jobs, take classes online as a nontraditional student, blog, and maintain the house. It eventually got to a point where the To-Do list was no longer an option, but a necessity.
This article on benefits comes entirely from my personal experience. I hope you are able to find a way to take what I’ve learned and adopt it in a way that it works for you, too.
Visualize the Day
The To-Do list is a visual experience. It helps you to see everything that needs to be done. Once it’s all there in front of you, it’s easier to plan out your day in a way to accomplish everything that needs to be done in the most effective way possible.
Small Victories
If you designed your To-Do list well, you’ll be able to track your progress throughout the day. This is especially true if you’re working one step at a time on a bigger project like writing a book or researching for a large school project.
Plus it just feels so damn satisfying to cross out a task when it’s done.
Nothing Gets Forgotten
With a To-Do list nearby, nothing will sneak up on you. Everything is already considered. There is already a plan in place to take care of it. There is no excuse to not be prepared.
Even Leftovers Provide a Benefit
It’s easy to feel bad about having un-crossed tasks on your list at the end of the day. They make you feel like you aren’t good enough or that you didn’t try hard enough.
Really, there are a lot of reasons why those tasks went undone. It’s up to you to not get down on yourself. Be proactive and assess the leftover tasks.
- Did you over schedule yourself?
- Are you deliberately avoiding those tasks? Why?
- Do the leftover tasks not represent your priorities?
- Did you not have the tools you needed to complete the tasks?
As you can see, getting down on yourself for not finishing a list is premature without some type of assessment. Of course, if nothing on that list applies to you and the list didn’t get done because you ate potato chips and watched TV, then, maybe, yeah you should feel a little guilty. That guilt may be good so you don’t create a habit of not getting done what needs to be done.
This post is the first in a mini-series about To-Do lists. Next week, I’ll talk about the downsides of To-Do lists that I’ve discovered while using them. After that, I’ll share my discovery of an effective way of creating a To-Do list that works every time.
If you’re an enthusiast of To-Do lists, leave a comment at the bottom. I’d love to hear about the benefits you’ve discovered from using them!