3 Reasons your To-Do List Needs an Upgrade

You can find thousands of different versions of the to-do list out there. It can be overwhelming. You have dreams, you have goals, you have a plan, and you want to take action. But you need a system to organize your tasks and the motivation to accomplish them. Sometimes you jot down reminders on your new iPhone, iPad, planner, or productivity app. Or maybe you only have time to quickly search for some space on a post-it note, grocery list, junk mail, or an old flyer before you forget your task. Regardless of your system, ask yourself, how productive are your days? How balanced are your days? How fulfilled are your days? Suddenly you wake up and catch yourself stuck in a routine that is not working and you sigh in frustration. Now what?

Here are 3 reasons your to-do list is in need of an upgrade.

Reason #1 – You Do Not Put Yourself First

We are all at different stages in life, with unique opportunities and challenges. Whether you are in school, starting a family, or changing careers, it is authentic to you. So where do you even begin to prioritize?

Your Body and Mind

The undisputed fact is that the top priority is always…you. This can be hard to implement for some, especially women, but we must first fuel ourselves in order to give back. No matter how your day plays out, full of challenges and detours, YOU always come first. Specifically, your body and mind come first. More specifically, your workouts and meditations come first. And it doesn’t matter what time of the day you accomplish this as long as it is completed. Are you scheduling all of your workouts and tracking your meditations? Put it on your calendar even if you only have time to walk the dog for exercise or sit still for 2 minutes to quiet your mind. Track it and you’ll notice a difference when you do not.

The intention of putting yourself first, optimized with workouts and meditations, will ensure that you do not negotiate your way out of your own health. When you feel better, you do better. Period!

Reason #2 – You Do Not Schedule What Is Most Important

Most of us have replaced paper calendars for digital ones and use our smart phones as our calendars. I say most of us. Whether you use an iPhone, Google Calendar or another system, the digital calendar is convenient and so are the automatic reminders that pop up while you are distracted catching up on social media. You will likely not miss your next appointment. Perfecting a digital calendar, however, is an art and takes practice but it is worth the effort to streamline your busy life, especially if you have to keep up with a family schedule. Advances in technology have released numerous sophisticated digital planning systems, but for most people a combination of a digital calendar and a paper to-do list/planner will suffice for now.

Pretty much everything can be thrown into your digital calendar; your workouts, your appointments, kids after-school sports, recitals, birthdays, etc. The convenience of setting a “repeat” reminder for events that occur daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly will take the stress out of remembering every little detail of your life. Also, the importance of scheduling time on your calendar for important tasks cannot be understated. Blocks or batches of time scheduled to tackle your most important actions are a key to high productivity. It is optimal to take a snapshot of your week’s most important appointments to see how productive your scheduling is going.

Reason #3 – You Do Not Intentionally Prioritize And Balance

After making time on the calendar for yourself and your most important appointments, you are now down to the pure tasks of your day; what actually needs to get accomplished. Too many times, we get into a habit of writing down absolutely everything on our mind in fear that we will forget something. The issue is that we do not prioritize nor balance our day. Time can seem elusive but what is really happening is that we are giving our schedule and energy away to the wrong tasks.

1.  First Prioritize

At the top of your to-do list should be the 1-3 top tasks that you must accomplish first in order to get you closer to your goals. Separate and highlight the 1-3 items. Make them stand out. Give them importance. Write. Pursue. Achieve. Everything else on the list takes a back seat if it does not directly impact what you set out to fulfill. This practice is difficult and takes discipline but the intention behind it makes all the difference.

2.  Balance

The integration of work and life has blurred the lines of balance. So where does one end and the other begin? It all depends on your individual needs. Carrying separate to-do lists and planners for your work and personal life is not necessary or even that effective. You can integrate them as one. Most companies understand that with the advances in technology, it is not uncommon to check emails at 9pm and it is not uncommon to purchase groceries online during working hours, saving you precious time to spend with your friends and family. It is your balance to own. Use your resources and time wisely.

In the end, your to-do list should work for you and not be something to roll your eyes at. It should not be a random list of tasks with no goals. The key is to focus on your priorities, learn where to say no, schedule important tasks on your calendar, and find true balance in work and life, however it looks for you. 

Ready to upgrade your to-do list? You can find tons of free and paid to-do list printables out there on the Internet, or you can customize one yourself. However, if you are looking for a version similar to the format discussed above and one I created and use every week, try this one.