How to make a better to-do list

I like to make to-do lists. They keep me focused, organised and more productive. I prefer using pen and paper for my lists. Call me old school if you like, but I find that my brain functions better this way. I remember things easier and I'm more productive. I also like my to-do lists quite detailed, to make sure I don't forget anything. I'm always on a quest to find the best ways to create the perfect to-do list that will help me achieve my goals and be very productive. Today, I'll share with you some of the ways that I found to work for me.

1. Create a Brain Dump List. 

I found that getting everything off my mind and into paper, ensures that I don't forget to do things and it also empties my brain from constantly thinking about those things. You can create one list where you write everything, or you can make more than one list for various categories i.e. for work, housework, personal, family and so on. In the case that you want to create only one list, you can colour code it to separate the tasks this way. Me personally, I have two Brain Dump Lists: one for work, and one for everything else, which I then colour code, in order to make it easier to visually see the tasks that need to be done in each category I've created.

Every month I check my Brain Dump list and I choose 1-5 tasks to tackle on that month. I break each one into smaller more manageable steps and then, I allocate a few steps of each task for each week of the month. So, when I'm writing my daily to-do list, I check my weekly spread and choose what steps/tasks need to be done on that day.

2. Break the big tasks down into smaller more manageable tasks/steps.

You can do that directly on your Brain Dump list, or you can create a separate smaller list for the specific project or task with all the steps that you need to take.

3. Mark the Important tasks. 

I break the tasks down into

Urgent if they are important or need to be done as soon as possible, or

Not Urgent if they can be tackled at a later date. What I do, is to place a little red dot next to the important tasks, so that I know straight away which ones I should do first.

4. Start with the most important tasks.

Each day I start by noting down the 3 most important tasks on my list. Again, I do that by placing a little red dot next those tasks. These are the tasks that have to be done no matter what. So, if I only do those 3 and nothing else, I can still consider my day quite productive.

Tackle your most important tasks first and don't waste time on trivial tasks.

5. Time everything.

I write an estimated time next to each task. I use this in conjuction with the time management bar to see when I have enough time during my day to allocate for each particular task.

6. Time yourself.

I find that whenever I use a timer when doing a task, I do it quicker and more efficiently. By timing myself for each task, I can also see if my time estimates that I mentioned above are reasonable. And funnily enough, while doing this exercise I found that I have a completely wrong sense of time and my time estimates were completely off! I also like to use the pomodoro technique.

7. Pick a time every day to write your to-do list for the next day.

I prefer to do this before I go to bed. I tend to spend anything between 10-20 minutes to plan my to-do list for the next day. I go through my future log, my brain dump list and my weekly spread to see what tasks I have to do for the next day.

The above steps / techniques have helped me immensely to plan ahead and to be more productive. Please share in the comments below any tips or tricks you use in order to create your perfect to-do list.

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My Bullet Journal Planning Routine

Having lots of spreads and pages in your bullet journal that help you with your day to day planning can sometimes be a bit confusing or you might find that you forget to check a page at one point. I try to keep on top of everything I create in order to help me with my future planning, but making a list to make sure you don't forget anything is always a good idea ;)

I break my planning into monthly, weekly and daily speads. That way I can keep track of any tasks, projects, appointments and so on. I also have a yearly spread with all my plans and goals for the current year, but I don't have to change that during the year.

-- MONTHLY --

So, my planning starts in the beginning of every month. I take a look at the previous month to see what I have accomplished and where I am now. Then I take a look at my yearly goals to see what I want to achieve by the end of the year and what needs to be done to get there. Lastly, I take a look at my Level 10 Spread , adjust the levels if needed and again see what I want to change and improve in my life and ways to do that.

All the above help me to choose which goals I want to tackle this month. And then I set up my monthly spread in my bullet journal where I write everything down. I tend to change my spread from time to time. I look at the previous month and see what has worked and what hasn't and then make the necessary changes. Or I might be inspired by a spread I've seen on Pinterest for example, and I might want to give that a try.

-- WEEKLY --

Moving on to my weekly planning, I create steps for each of the monthly goals I mentioned above, and then spread them in the time frame of the 4 weeks ahead. I decide which steps need to be done first according to importance, and I create my weekly spread in my bullet journal.

To help me with the reoccurring weekly tasks and so that I don't keep on repeating myself, I created a page for my housework routine and also a page for my blogging routine. That way I know what I have to do for these two categories every week, no matter what.

-- DAILY --

For my daily tasks I start from the night before. I fill in my trackers and my gratitude log , as well as any challenges that I might have done for the day. Then I go on to set up my new daily spread taking inspiration from my 'banner ideas' pages.

I've created a Free Printable for you with a few of the above daily date ideas.

Coming back to my planning, I then look at the day before and see if I have left any tasks that I haven't finished. If I do, then I migrate them to tomorrow's daily spread. The migrated tasks are marked then with an arrow and the cancelled tasks with an X.

Then I look at my Calendex to see if I have any appointments, bithdays etc., and I note them down as well. The next step is to take a look at my monthly and weekly spreads to see if I've noted something there that needs to be done specifically the next day. If not, then I will choose 1-2 steps from my goal setting list to add to my daily tasks. I also check my housework and blogging routine pages to see what I have to do for tomorrow.

I've decided to put coloured boxes on top of the tasks. Each coloured box indicates a specific category (i.e. housework, kids, exercise, blogging etc.) and it also indicates the time I've allocated for each category on my time line. That way I see where I am during the day, and choose from that set of tasks what to do.

The following morning I'll review the tasks that need to be done that day, note the most important ones and add anything if needed. During the day I will tick off any tasks that are completed.

>> If you want to see my favourite Resources that I use every day with my Bullet Journal,  click here to find out what I love to use.

So, that's my planning routine with my bullet journal. It might seem a lot of steps to some, but I'm so used to it, that it doesn't bother me at all. And it's not a lot of work anyway. I can honestly say that I haven't been more productive since starting this planning routine. How do you plan your day?