Have you ever said, “I just can’t seem to get my to-do list done!”
Do you think if you just got organized enough you could get everything done? Don’t count on it. The average person has so many things on their list that if they did nothing else but work on those things – didn’t go to work, had no personal life, nothing – and added nothing new to their list – it would take approximately 10 weeks to get it all done! What does that tell you? It tells you no one gets everything done that’s on their list!
Money, space and time have something in common. They’re not unlimited commodities. You only have so much, and you have to make do with that amount or give up something you already have to make more. There are only 24 hours in a day, and while you can definitely accomplish more by increasing productivity through good time management, there’s only so much you can squeeze into those 24 hours!
Think about it. Anything on your to-do list will take time, so if you want to do it, you need to find the time for it. If your days are already full, you’ll have to save time by doing other things in a faster or smarter way, or open up a time slot that would otherwise be filled with some other activity. This requires constant decisions about priorities and requires a realistic look at your to-do list itself. You should use the same formula when you make your to-do list that you use for setting goals—remember, “SMART?”
Make a SMART to-do list each day
Your to-do list should be made up of Specific things that can be Measured (either you did them, or you didn’t), that are Action oriented, Relevant to your objectives, and Time-limited. It isn’t the right place to list all your wishes and dreams. It’s not a storage place for all your most creative ideas. Yes, have lists for those things, but don’t call them to-do lists and don’t expect to accomplish them when you have 24 hours of SMART things on your to-do list that need doing right now.
Actually, I recommend that instead of creating lengthy to-do lists you enter specific tasks that you will do at specific times in your planner/calendar. By changing from writing lists to scheduling actions you’ll accomplish much more!
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