To-Do lists are part of our life. Almost all of us use them. But despite the availability of various tools and techniques, most of us have a limited success with them. In this post, I will discuss a few ways to make it work for you!!
Keep it Simple and follow BPS!
I have used almost about 10 online To-Do lists over the last few years. Here is the lesson I learnt from this experience.
Keep creating, using and maintaining the To-Do list, really simple
A normal human mind has an aversion for complexity in the long run. Simplicity is good for everything and To-Do lists are no exception.
Here are some characteristics of a good To-Do list:
- Clean user interface
- Easy to manage tasks
- Easy to view the priority of tasks
- Quick to access and portable
I follow a simple technique to keep my list useful and effective: Bucketize, Prioritize, Sanitize (BPS) Cycle
#1 Bucketize
A bucket is a logical grouping of tasks. Here is an example list of groups:
- Official
- Personal
- Follow Up
- Someday
- Urgent
- Unknown
- To be removed
- Problems and so on…
Whenever a new task comes up, the first thing I do is to find the right bucket.
#2 Prioritize
Then within the bucket, assign priorities to the task. Use some color coding to make some tasks stand out, that are of very high priority
This way you ensure a very clear view of the tasks (by way of buckets) and the priorities they have
#3 Sanitize
Maintain the sanity of your list by periodically reviewing the tasks that are no longer valid.
I normally move them in to a bucket named “To be removed” and if it remains there after a while, I remove it.
Tools?
If you like the above technique, I suggest you two ways
- Use TeuxDeux. It is an excellent minimalist to-do management tool. It inherently supports the concept of buckets and prioritizing tasks
- Use Spreadsheets. Highly cost effective and functionally supports all that we need
So what are you waiting for? Go, refine the way you manage your to-do list and the make the most out of it.
Happy Productive day!!
Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons by Courtney Dirks
