A To Do List is a great way to get organized

A To Do list (or task list) is an effective way to plan your tasks.

Are you constantly feeling overwhelmed? Are you facing a number of deadlines? Or have you simply forgotten something that you were supposed to do?

These are all indicators that a To Do List could be beneficial for you.

A prioritized task list is essential for people who want to manage their time in an effective way. It does this by helping you to:

• remember tasks that have to be done
• organize tasks based on their priority
• estimate and allocate time for each task
• work towards your established goals

Download your free To-Do list and take the first step to significant productivity gains.

Once you become familiar with a To Do List you can start to incorporate proactive time management and make even bigger gains in productivity.

Instructions for your To Do List

The first row is the task to be completed. The second row is an estimate of the time for completion. This is an important part of a task list as it helps you to schedule the task into your timetable.

In the third column is a priority of the tasks. A common method is to use the ABC method of priority, in which the important tasks are denoted with an A, medium importance is denoted B, and C is for all the non-important tasks. However, what are the important tasks?

To prioritize your tasks, ask yourself the following questions. What tasks will help me reach my long term goals? What has the most value-added return on time investment? What will happen if I don’t do it? Which project/task yields the greatest benefit to my company? What tasks are flowing over from yesterday? Do I need the help of other people? Is it important to others that I care about?

It is important to make your tasks as specific as possible. The more specific the more likely you will tick it off in the fourth column. This may seem a bit juvenile, but ticking a completed task does wonders to your confidence and motivation.

A common problem in setting a task list is that the lists are either not specific enough or there are too many things on them. Try to be realistic and specific in your tasks because incomplete tasks lead to a loss of confidence and an increase in your stress.

Once you have a list of tasks, you can then schedule your tasks, so that you take advantage of your energy levels and work smarter rather than harder.