To-Do Lists Are No Good
Everyone makes them – we spend precious time each day making a nice, long list of things we want to accomplish. Lofty goals, such as “Review last week’s physics lecture notes” and “Volunteer at Shelter”. Then, just to be realistic, we add “Take shower” and “make breakfast” so we can feel good crossing something off the list.
What a way to set yourself up to fail, huh?
Your to-do list is rubbish. We’re going to use it today to get you started on a better path, but eventually you’re tossing that baby out the window. Good riddance!
- For now, go make your silly to-do list. Be sure to include ANY AND ALL assignments that are due this week, or will be due next week. Yes, this is a good time to bust out those syllabi you haven’t looked at all semester.
- Go print a free weekly calender from CalendarsThatWork.com, or use a digital one if you prefer. Then set it aside.
- Take a long, hard look at your list. You are going to be very, very honest with it in a moment.
- Beside each item on your list you need to write in how long it’ll take to do. Seriously, be realistic.
Now, your list will look something like this:
- Calculus homework – 2 hours
- Laundry – 4 hours
- Dinner – 2 hours
- Save the world – 10 minutes
Now you can grab your lovely, hour-segmented calendar and fill in your unshakeables (classes and work schedule). Once that’s done, go back to your to-do list and start grabbing the important things and filling them into your schedule. When you’re done, if you’re half as busy as me it’ll look like this:
That’s all you need to get started – come back later in the week for our next step.
