Imagine this: you’re ready to slay your day and feeling all of these productivity fluids running inside you BUT a minute later, you got stuck because you can’t figure out what you need to do. This happens to all of us: almost everyone struggles with getting stuff done and when we’ve got so much in our plate, we’re feeling drained all of sudden because we just *didn’t* know where to start. This is where a to-do list can help you greatly. In fact, it may come in handy to keep your work-life balance intact.
And this is why we need a guide. A to-do list.
A study by Professors Baumeister and Masicampo from Wake Forest University showed that making a plan to get our tasks done can free us from anxiety. It’s simply because a to-do list giving us a feeling of being in control; a planning process that turns an abstract goal into concrete steps of action. By breaking down goals into every do-able task, we’re removing anxiety by knowing what we need to do at any given time. And ticking items off to-do lists gives us a sense of accomplishment and progress too.
So, to optimize our daily schedule, below is a guide on how to write to-do list and utilize it to our advantage.
- Think about the bigger picture. Before writing down your to-do list, you need to have a clear idea about what goals that we’re trying to achieve. Then, set the to-do list based on your goals.
- Don’t be vague. Make sure your list contains detail. To-do list is there to help time management, prioritizing your workload, and to ultimately guarantee you a productive day. Thus, always write the details about the tasks you’re about to do.
- Be realistic. You need to be realistic about how long things will take to finish all the tasks you wrote on to-do lists. Always do one task at a time, concentrate, and enjoy the satisfaction of ticking off the list, then moving to the next task.
- Review and update. Last but not least, don’t forget to review and update your to-do list. As time goes by, surely more tasks will come and ruin your list. When this happens, you can easily review your list and sneak-in the task based on the urgency.
Knowing what we’re going to do each day can empower us with a sense of purpose and focus. So, make sure to start the day by writing down our to-do list, and then pick the tasks, get it done, and tick it off the list. Good luck!
