Good morning, my friends! This started as an idea for an insta story, but there were so many things I wanted to add. Since I don’t have a swipe up feature (10K followers, where you at?), I couldn’t add the articles I wanted y’all to read! There is actually only one big secret to the perfect to-do list and a few little ones, so I’ll start now with the nitty gritty and end with the superficial (aka the pens and notebooks/notepads).
Lucky Number Seven
For years (all through college and the beginning of my professional career and even now), I would find myself suffocating underneath a to-do list that was weeks long. I’m a busy girl. I have a lot to do. A lot of people to see and enjoy time with and it only gets harder to dictate the best ways to spend my time as I get older. I would generally write my to-do lists from longest amount of time needed to shortest amount of time needed/least important. For the most part, I would get frustrated after a significant amount of time working on task #1 and/or get too frazzled to move on. I have a REALLY hard time staying focused (and I know I’m not alone), so it wasn’t hard to tell that this system was not working.
Enter a blog post (that I can’t find to save my life. Honestly, it was probably from The Skinny Confidential or Chronicles of Frivolity) that suggested cutting down my to-do lists to 7 items only. I read it, thought about how nice it would be and then decided to put in a little more research. Apparently, it’s actual science. With a THEORY and EVERYTHING. Read this article and this one, also. To summarize, an adult can only store about 7 items in his/her short term memory. It makes sense that our to-do lists shouldn’t be any longer than that! That explains A LOT of unfinished tasks for this girl! Anyway, a few months ago, I started to make two to-do lists. The long list (because I really do need to write it down) and the 7-item list. The 7-item list is re-done daily.
I start the list by numbering because I can get out of control and be at the bottom of the page before I’ve even prioritized what’s actually important. Which leads me to another little detail: Think about what’s important TODAY. You might think that simple tasks on my list, like working out or doing the laundry aren’t worthy of being listed, but for me they are. Not all the time, but right now, yes. Since it’s summer and I’m not working, I’m out of routine. These tasks have no deadline or appointment (unless you take a scheduled workout class or need a specific clothing item for an event). So for my Tuesday, the to-do list included laundry. I’m also trying to be consistent with my workouts. Therefore, “workout” is on the list. When I’m in a more consistent workout schedule, it’ll come off the list. Maybe then, I’ll add 30-minutes of reading OR a 30-minute phone call with a friend. Adapt your list to what is important to you TODAY.
My Little Secret(s)
Now, the articles I listed for you to read highly recommend completing your to-do lists the night before. The TRUE secret of this post is the Lucky Number 7, but my little secret is: I sometimes write my to-do lists in the morning. My really tiny secret? I sometimes write the items down after I’ve completed them. If that’s bad, I don’t care. The satisfaction of crossing off items on a list is TOO GOOD. Just because I hadn’t notated the tasks on a physical list also doesn’t mean they weren’t part of my top 7 there night before. My point, I guess, is that you don’t have to get down on yourself for not executing this to-do list perfectly. This is my advice and I’m still not perfect, but I know it has helped me SO MUCH with my productivity.
The Tools You Need
Maybe you don’t need these things, but I am HIGHLY motivated by colorful writing! I also write my to-do lists in different colors for every day. Maybe you like writing in black pen and crossing out with red sharpie (this is how my long lists get taken care of, because they’re more serious, ha). Maybe you highlight each task after it’s completed. Either way, my recommendation is that you give yourself all of the applause and emphasize the completion of every single task. It’s an important part of productivity!
I am a recent flare pen (the pink pen) convert, but I was originally in love with Pentel’s Energel Pens (1.0 mm, specifically). I aspire to be bold with my actions, and want my work to be the same. I also happen to have converted from notepads to notebooks with adorable doodles and inspirational quotes. I love that I can refer back to previous to-do lists since they are all in one place. I linked all of my favorites below!
Now for the truth. I didn’t get everything on my list done. I’m here to tell you that’s okay. That’s WHY, I think, it’s important that we stop at 7. The items I didn’t finish will be moved to tomorrow’s list and they’ll get done. Like I’ve said (about 1,000 times in this post), I’m not perfect and these productivity tasks are to help us, not make us feel bad. I hope y’all get some ideas from this post! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a question below OR on my instagram. How do you stay organized? PLEASE SHARE! Happy Hump Day, y’all!
