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Welcome here, my friend! Today we’re going to look at how we can make sure we achieve our daily goals by knowing what mistakes to avoid when writing our daily to-do lists.
What is a To-Do List?
A to-do list is simply a list of all of the tasks you intend to accomplish during any given day or week. Creating a to-do list may seem like a pretty straightforward thing to do.
But there are common mistakes people make without even knowing it that can eventually put your productivity in jeopardy.
Keeping a daily to-do list is a productivity superweapon — that’s why it’s important to make sure you aren’t making these 5 common mistakes that I see all the time.
Before you write your next to-do list, check out these top 5 common mistakes people make when creating their to-do lists.
5 common mistakes to avoid when creating a To-Do List
Mistake #1:
Not Writing Down Your To-Do List
We’ve all done this before: you think it’s not important to write down your daily to-do list. You just have the list in your head without putting it down on paper.
From my experience, this is a big mistake. No matter how confident you are in your memory, always write down your to-do list.
This makes it real and tangible. You can see it, which makes it so much easier to remember. You could write it down in a planner, on a piece of paper, or put it in an app like Evernote or Notion.
Mistake #2:
Including, Too Many Tasks
If your to-do list includes too many tasks, it will only leave you feeling overwhelmed. I recommend choosing up to three important tasks.
Start with those, and once you have accomplished them, then you can move on to the goals that are secondary in importance.
Mistake #3:
Not Being Specific
People are often vague on a to-do list. For example, writing “I will read a book today” is quite vague. Be as specific as you possibly can, such as, “I will read two chapters, or ten pages of the “HABIT PLAN today.”
As you can see, this example provides the exact book, even specifying roughly how many chapters/pages you will read. This helps you decide exactly what is expected so that you’re not going into the day blind.
When writing your list, pinpoint your goals and be as specific as you can. This gets the brain as ready as possible for what’s to come.
Mistake #4:
Listing Your Tasks Without Estimated Times
It’s important to include the time frame of roughly how long each task is going to take. one benefit of this is that it gives you a rough estimate of how much time you’ll need to get everything accomplished, allowing you to better plan ahead for the day.
Mistake #5:
Making Your List the Day You Need It
Writing your to-do list the same day can really be stressful, especially since you’ll be in a rush to head out to work. Doing this gives you no time to reflect on what steps to take to make your to-do list possible.
Always write your to-do list in advance to ensure that you’re ready to go on the day of action.
It’s best to allocate some time to write your to-do list the night before. If you get your to-do list done then, you won’t have to worry about it the next day.
Not only does this save you precious time, but it also gives you a chance to reflect and truly think about what you need to accomplish the next day.
Conclusion
A to-do list is a road map for your day. It helps you structure your time and, when done right, you can really maximize your productivity with a great to-do list.
RECAP:
Mistake #1: Not Writing Down Your To-Do List
Mistake #2: Including Too Many Tasks
Mistake #3: Not Being Specific
Mistake #4: Listing Your Tasks Without Estimated Times
Mistake #5: Making Your List the Day You Need It
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Other related posts.
8 Things You Can Do That Will Set You Up For a Productive Morning
15 Powerful Quotes That Will Boost Your Productivity
20 self-improvement tips that will change your life.
10 Daily Habits List That will Change Your Life.
Another useful tip when creating your to-do list is to do week schedules or month schedules beforehand. If you write a to-do list each day and don’t have a final end goal in sight you may start losing focus. If you have an idea of what goals you want to achieve throughout the entire week or month, you can structure your daily to-do lists so that you’re doing a little bit each day to reach that specific goal.