How to make your 'to do’ list work for you

We’re all bad for trying to do too much and store everything that we need to do in our heads but how many of these tasks to you actually complete on a daily basis?

With interruptions of phone calls, emails and meetings plus, if you’re working from home family demands, it’s easy to get sidetracked and jump from one task to another without actually completing any of them.

If you’re struggling to focus and finish off the jobs that you need to do, using a to list can be a huge help and extremely satisfying.

It also means nothing gets forgotten.

In the world we all live in we all constantly multi-task and it’s easy to forget one of the many, many things we have to do.

Here’s some ideas to help you write your list and to make it work for you in 2024.

Have a structure to your to-do list

It’s very easy to write a list and pick off the easy or preferred tasks leaving the ones you’re not too keen on until later in the day or ‘Tomorrow’. Think about how effective you would become if you completed your most important tasks every day.

Put your most important or pressing tasks at the top of your list and make sure you work through them in order. Putting your more enjoyable tasks further into your list will give you something to look forward to later in the day and a project to strive towards.

Make sure your to-do list is do-able

If you list is too long and you have no hope of getting though it, you will end up feeling deflated at the end of the day.

You can still keep a weekly or monthly list of tasks somewhere but try and make your day’s work load manageable. Try having just 6-8 items on your daily list and then if you can do more, it’s a bonus! Your mind will work better if it’s not holding hundreds of tasks, this will give you a better chance to concentrate on the tasks of the day. You will be amazed the difference this can have on your productivity and thinking.

Be specific with your tasks

It is important to have you write down the tasks you have to do clearly. Vague notes can make your tasks difficult to achieve. For example, you may decide that one of your priorities for the day is to work on an event you are planning. You could write “work on event” but what does that actually mean? Finding a venue, pick items for goodie bags, design the artwork. A much better description of the task would be something like: spend one picking a menu.

Tick Tick Tick

One of the best things about having a list is ticking it off as you complete the tasks. It give you a real sense of achievement. Reward yourself at the half way point with a cup of tea and a biscuit and keep your lists together in a book so you can see how much you have achieved and can always stay on stop of your work load.

Here at BMG we have a range of to do pads and office essentials to make your working day easier.

Call us for more info on 0131 346 1494 or email sales@bmgoffice.co.uk