Managing a to-do list done
We usually faced with so many needs to be done. This relates to job, social activities, as well as personal life. Sometimes we do not know what to do and sometimes we have a headache of huge amount of work required to work on. These cases are forcing us to use a to-do list.
The goal of a to-do list
To get most of to-do lists let’s think about goals of using it. We all know what we can not do something effectively while our mind is thinking about anything else. Remember situation then you worry about an upcoming event or about speaking on meeting. This rarely allows completing other tasks and usually significantly increases time spending.
We need a tool to help us avoiding worry about anything except the current task and to keep concentration on one task a time. Is writing tasks into a to-do list help us forgetting about these items until we have to do something about them? If yes, that is our desired goal of using to-do list.
To conclude the basic idea of a to-do list I have to say: let to do list worry about upcoming tasks, release your mind to complete the current one.
Types of to-do lists
To-do lists are widely used. It is so natural what many people not require any special training or manual. However some education can help. Everyone is unique and approaches of using to-do list are different. Let’s highlight three commonly used to-do list types:
1. Plain or sequential to-do list
Everyone at least once used this kind of to-do list. It looks like a numbered list of tasks to be done. Such to-do list user works on these tasks starting with most important first. Every completed task marked appropriately.
2. One day to-do list
This type of to-do list is used for collecting most important and time sensitive tasks. This includes meetings, phone calls and events. These tasks are usually written in sticky notes and placed on a visible place. In addition to task title it contains scheduled time.
3. To-do list with scheduling
This one list is most effective and can benefit user with an additional info, such as time spending reports, data for timesheets, planned vs. spent comparison tables. This to-do list is only available in electronic form, as software like AcePlanner.
Effective to-do list is not just a plain of things to be done. It is an instrument for collecting tasks and selecting most important to work on.
We will come back next week and cover in details how-to, pros and cons of each to-do list.
