Comments on: Taming Your To-Do List

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:09:32 +0000

That's true. Putting things down on paper gives your overworked brain a little rest and relaxation, so to speak. It's just one less thing to worry about.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:43:09 +0000

It's really interesting to me how this post and some of what you've written about multi-tasking intersect. For example, when you don't write down what you need to do, your brain tries to remember it all. But, as you say, it's “at an enormous cost in terms of energy and time.” Also anxiety-provoking in my experience.

Once you make a written To Do List, your brain can let go of remembering the items and focus on doing the items.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:29:44 +0000

Thanks for your very detailed and insightful comment! I agree that the way you format your to-do list is very important and can definitely impact your productivity. Perhaps I should post a video with some ideas for to-do list organization. What do you think? Would that be helpful?

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:29:43 +0000

By: laguiri

laguiri — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:37:29 +0000

Good advice! I do my to-do lists on standard paper, never on little scraps, so I can make columns. I make six cells. Work (urgent and non), Home (urgent and non) and Personal (again). That way, I don't have 256 things to do…. divided, they look more manageable and more logical because I'm more likely to do several things from the same cell in a row. It also sorts out which of them to do next: whatever is Urgent.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:50:15 +0000

That's a good point, Johan. No matter how organized your to-do list is, you still need the dedication to turn each item on the list into action. It really comes down to having the right mindset.

By: Johan Grahn

Johan Grahn — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:41:41 +0000

In my experience, the hardest part of a TODO-list, is to take responsibility for each item that you write on your TODO-list. If you can't do that, you are not going to do them at all, or just maybe do one of them.

It doesn't matter if you have the time or not, your mind will not be commited to actually perform the tasks.

This is one of the things that I'm currently working on

By: Tina Ho

Tina Ho — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:30:10 +0000

Another thing that really helps me is to arrange tasks by time. I don't mean when items are due but rather when I want to get them done, ie "I'm going to finish this, this, and that before going to lunch, and then I'm going to work on this project."

That doesn't necessarily mean things due first are done first. I also take into consideration how best to knock out more tasks in less time.

The store and the post office are on the way back from the restaurant I'm craving for lunch? Then making my shopping list and getting all my mail together are at the top of my list. I need to do some research before responding to an email? Then I do that first before opening my inbox and writing the five emails I need to write.

But you're right; writing a to-do list is very important for busy, ambitious people. It's not a sign of weakness or poor memory but rather a sign of efficiency. If you have it there, you can't forget to do it.

Besides, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a post-it full of crossed off items. :) Excellent tips!