| 6 To-Dos For Making More Effective To-Do Lists |
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| Ririan | |||
| Wednesday, 04 June 2008 | |||
 “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, andfocused effort.” - Paul J. Meyer  Most individuals have 150 to 200 short-term action items and 30 to 100 longer-term projects bubbling at any given time, according to David Allen, a time-management consultant. Hence, the to-do list. If you’re having trouble crossing items off on yours, it’s probably not because you’re lazy or unfocused; it’s because your lists may not be that good to begin with.Here are six points to bear in mind when you’re preparing your to-do list. Once you’ve mastered these, you should be closer to crossing off all the items by the end of every day. 1. Put it in writing. As the efficiency expert Peter “The Time Man” Turla says, “Paper remembers, people forget.” Writing down your goals creates the roadmap to your success. Although just the act of writing them down can set the process in motion, it is also extremely important to review your list frequently. Remember, the more focused you are on your list the more likely you are to accomplish everything. 2. Make it specific and measurable. If your goal is to ‘do your best,’ you probably won’t. Define and describe your goal. Write down when you want to achieve it. Write down the reasons why you want it. Write down what it would feel like after you have achieved it. Figure out exactly what it will take to get it. Be realistic about the time things will take. Many people don’t allow themselves enough time, and give up too soon. A dream becomes a goal when you attach a time frame. Without a date, you procrastinate. Draw a horizontal timeline with a dot at each end. The left end represents now, and the right end represents a point in the future. Specify what you want to happen and when, from now until then. 4. Phrase it positively. Your goal should be written and have positive intent about what you want to bring into your life. This is very important, since the focus of your goal should not be centred around describing a problem you want to eliminate. If your goal is to stop eating so many hot-fudge sundaes, you’ll obsess about eating them. It’s better to write, ‘I will reward myself with one hot-fudge sundae per month if I average three workouts per week.’ 5. Make it realistic. Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. Kick-start your get-goingness by setting small goals and winning. Take a big dream, like ‘I want to be famous,’ and break it down into smaller, more manageable steps, like ‘I want to star in a science fiction movie,’ ‘I want to go to three auditions a week,’ ‘I want to move to another city’ and ‘I want to save $5000 so I can move.’ 6. Keep entries short and separate. Try formulating goals for seven life areas: health, relationships, finances, material goods, career, education, and recreation. Then learn to balance your priorities. Most individuals are much better at setting work goals than personal ones, but it’s probably harder to maintain a successful marriage, retire wealthy, or stay healthy than it is to succeed at work. Make sure you have goals for these things too. Don’t forget the words of Lao-Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Disclaimer: Harmonious Living is written for and read by a community of individuals with strong and independent opinions. While the publishers of Harmonious Living are dedicated to providing a forum in which views can be openly expressed, those views do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.
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