So, often our to-do lists seem overwhelming and seem to take a life of their own. It really doesn’t have to be that way. Try these easy steps to slimming down that list and putting time back into your day.
Step 1: Make a list of everything you want or need to do.
Step 2: Place a star beside each item that you absolutely must complete today.
Step 3: Place a dot beside each item that you would like to get to today but could wait a day before starting.
Step 4: Looking over the starred items, number these by importance or rank these by the time needed to complete.
Step 5: Beginning with starred items, complete the items needing the least amount of time first and working towards the items that will take a bit longer to finish. This gives you a sense of accomplishment and frees your time to concentrate on the remaining task.
Step 6: After completing all of the starred items move on to the items with dots until your workday time is complete. Remember, dot items are bonuses that didn’t really need to be worked on today but you were able to get to.
Step 7: When you begin the next day all dot items will become stars and you can assign any additional items as dots or stars.
This method will assist you in working your way through a to-do list knowing you’re always tackling your most important and pressing tasks first.