Levelling Up Your To-Do List

“Don’t ever arrive at the office or in front of your computer screen without a clear list of priorities. You’ll just read un-associated email and scramble your brain for the day.”
– Tim Ferriss

Here are Wendy’s 7 top tips!

1.      SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH
Your daily to-do list should be your single source of truth.
Tasks dispersed across a mix of flagged emails and various notes is overwhelming. One list supports prioritisation.

2.      PRIORITISE
List your tasks in order of priority.
Visual order will support you to work on the tasks systematically, one at a time.
The Ivy Lee method recommends limiting your priorities to 6 tasks a day. What you don’t complete, carry forward to the next day.

3.      BATCH
Handling tasks as they arrive in your inbox slices your hours into time confetti. Batching similar tasks together saves time and effort and can reduce feelings of overwhelm.
For example, set aside blocks of time for specific work tasks. Only check email at certain times during the day.

4.      ESTIMATE COMPLETION TIME
Example:
Write newsletter content about to-do list tips | 2 hours

Having a time limit helps to create boundaries. And it supports you to timebox your calendar. Without a time limit, many tasks, such as writing the content of a newsletter, can expand exponentially.

5.      TIMEBOX
Review your to-do list against your calendar. Creating appointments with yourself to complete priority tasks provides a powerful reality check.
Categorise appointments, so that Timeboxed appointments show in a different colour to meetings.
Research confirms creating a daily schedule can reduce stress.

6.      EAT THE FROG
Prioritise your to-do list and plan your calendar the night before.
Circle the important task you are most likely to procrastinate on. This is your frog.
Start the next day by completing this task. Enjoy the momentum and self-mastery that accomplishing an important task generates.

7.      AESTHETICS MATTER
Format your to-do list and calendar to look appealing. Your daily to-do list is your point of reference. It is where you come back to when you’ve been distracted, and after returning from meetings and breaks. You want to enjoy using your to-do list.

This article was originally published at Gembridge.com