To-Do List

Anyone who is busy, and who isn't these days, could benefit greatly from using a To-Do List. It's a great way to keep up with what you have to get done, and even better, you get to mark stuff off and feel really good about yourself. ;)

A To-Do List can be made on many different things:
- A notepad
- A sticky note (or series of sticky notes)
- A scrap of paper
- Written in your planner
- Typed up on your computer

It all depends on the user. When I was in college, I used sticky notes. I would put the due date/date of the test on the top and what the thing was (ie Math Test, Spanish Homework Due) and line them up across the top of my desk in order of importance/due date. Then I could throw them away as I finished them. It was a great system.

I like to use a notepad or piece of paper now for daily tasks. I can write out what needs to be done and carry it around with me during the day marking things off as I go.

If you want to keep a master list of things to do like projects, appointments, etc you could write them in your planner. Some people write their to-dos on the day they need to be done in their planner. That is a great idea.

If you are techie, you might like putting your to-do list in a Word document, on an online calendar, or on a sticky note on your desktop (thanks Windows 7 for that neat feature).

The key is to put it where you will see it as it will remind you of what you need to get done.

Some people like to write out their to-dos each day, while some people prefer to make a gigantic list at the beginning of the week and work through it to give them more flexibility. I prefer to know what I need to do each week and then plug things in on my daily to-do list. If I don't get something done, I scratch through it and put it on the next day's list. That works for me.

The key is to write down what you need to get done. Be realistic. There are only 24 hours in a day and you need to sleep, eat, relax, and rest.