Don't overload your To-do list
Don't let your To-do lists overflow with too many tasks, avoid getting overwhelmed by bloated lists and stay focused on what matters
Friday April 28, 2017 by Jer
It can be easy to keep adding items to your To-do list. Had an idea in the shower this morning? Just pop it on a list. Thought of a series of things that need doing after your last Team meeting, that’s what your To-do list is for, right?
But while writing things down and fleshing out ideas as concrete actions to be taken is good practice, it’s easy to end up with a list that’s overloaded with sometimes unnecessary or unimportant work.
So before we add another item to our list, think about the bigger picture, what will completing this task do for me? Will it help complete this project I’m working on or maybe it will just add needless work. Have I enough spare time to tackle all those personal tasks I want to get done or has it become a wishlist that just gets forgotten about.
One list or many?
Different systems work for different people, sometimes it’s best to keep a single To-do list. This might work for you if you prefer to keep a short list of only the most important tasks that need doing in your life. A single list system means there’s only one place to look when you want to review your work or pick a task to complete next. My Tasks is ideal if you want to stick to a single list.
The downside of a single list is that there’s less context for your tasks. Personal and work tasks get mixed up together and sometimes this can become too cluttered. It might be best to consider creating separate lists based on the context and background of the task. Is your work project based? Perhaps creating a new list for each project is best. You can still have a default list where all those personal errands and anything else you want to quickly jot down can reside.
Developing good productivity habits
One important thing to avoid an over burdened To-do list is to develop good habits in how you manage and curate your Tasks. Here’s some quick Tips:
- Before you create a new task, make sure it’s not too vague. Less well defined tasks are more likely to languish on your list and clog it up.
- Make sure you review your list or lists on a daily basis. First thing in the morning review what needs doing today and quickly review your lists, prune anything that seems out of date or too vague.
- At the end of the day take a few moments to review and plan the next day, do you have a lot of tasks with no specific due date, try and schedule some for Tomorrow. With Taskary you can swipe a task to schedule a due date.
- If you have a vague or unclear task that still seems important, try to break it down into a series of subtasks that better define what actions need to be taken. You can long press a task in Taskary to start creating subtasks.
- Don’t try to do too much at once, be realistic about what you can get done in one day and don’t try to make sweeping changes to your productivity habits as they often end in failure. It’s better to make small incremental changes and nudge yourself gradually into better habits.
- If you want to get into good habits, why not use a repeating task and schedule it for as often needed to bake that habit into your routine.
Whatever system or habit you develop let My Tasks help you manage your To-do list and keep you productive each day.
Some useful My Tasks features:
How to create repeating tasks?
How to postpone or schedule a Task?
