The importance of to-do lists
I’ve accomplished more in the past two days than I have the last few weeks combined. Thanks to using up my holiday allowance before the year end, I found myself with two spare days and managed to clear a backlog of miscellaneous stuff that’s needed doing for ages.
You see, I’ve had a re-introduction to the awesome power of the To-do List.
Using nothing more than a tiny Muji notepad, pen and a little forward planning I wrote a list of the things I wanted to get done each day. The motivational power of having a plan (Heath Ledger’s Joker would love that) is incredible, with the feeling of accomplishment as you cross things out encouraging you to do more.
Amusingly, the use of to-do lists is one of the core concepts in David Allen’s Getting Things Done, which has sat unread on my desk for at least a year… a victim of my time management on things I decide are non-essential.
Thanks to the success I’ve had with the simple paper and pen lists, I’m going to apply the same approach at work. I’ll follow up in the comments and let you know how it goes – fingers crossed!
