To-do lists … are they all they’re cracked up to be?

Do you use to-do lists? Seems everyone does these days. And it’s long been advised that to start to organise things you need to compile a to-do list. I use them. Sometimes, I swear, it even seems to help! :/

But for quite a while now I’ve wondered if using a to-do list is really of much practical use at all. A report out this week seems to back this up. It seems that of all the high-achievers (top entrepreneurs, etc) virtually none of them uses a to-do list. Mmm … makes you think.

The problem with making to-do lists (or one of them, there may be more) is that once you put an item on that list it seems to be an achievement in itself. It’s not supposed to feel like that, but it does, somehow. You feel like you’ve really got to grips with this thing now, this thing you’ve been meaning to do for ages. Finally, you have it by the scruff of the neck and you’re not going to let go. It’s at your mercy and you’re going to deal with it!

Ah, but do you? Or do you just keep shifting that list from today in your calendar to tomorrow? And we all know when tomorrow comes, right? Yeah … never!

So this thing that you’ve been threatening to do, it sits there on your list, almost grinning at you, smug in the knowledge that you probably won’t get round to doing it … ever. You’ll just keep it on there, as though that in itself is some small victory. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about here … I’ve got things on my to-do list that are so old I’ve practically forgotten why I wanted to do them in the first place!

So this is, at most, a hollow victory. You feel good because you’ve done something, at last. And you’ve got the list there in front of you as proof. Oh sure, it can also generate a bit of bad feeling when you realise occasionally that you’re not really achieving very much, but that passes. Then you can just get on with … er, nothing much, really. And anyway, you’ll feel okay in a minute or so.

So is there something we can do about it? What’s the answer to this ridiculous state of affairs? Surely making a to-do list is a good thing, no? Well,you know, there might be something better. It’s a personal thing, of course. Maybe using a to-do list works perfectly for you, I don’t know. But for me it definitely has its limitations.

An alternative

Here’s another way to deal with all those things that are eager to join your to-do list. You start (not surprisingly) by making a list. Oh no, not another list … hold on, I haven’t finished yet! Make it as long and as comprehensive as you like. Add life-time goals if you want! You want to see the pyramids or go white-water canoeing down the Colorado before you die? Stick it on your list! Stick both of ’em on your list, why not! Keep adding as many things as you like, enjoy yourself, really pad it out.

Okay, now for the next stage. Now take a long and very critical look at your list. It’s probably quite long by now, am I right? Now then, try to whittle it down to just ten items. And what we’re looking for here are the ten most time-critical items, the ten things your really need to get done just as soon as you possibly can. This might be pretty easy for you, I don’t know. It’ll certainly be easy enough in certain specific cases – I mean, the white-water canoeing can be put on the back burner for a start, let’s be honest.

A list of just ten items

Okay, now we’ve got a list of just ten items. That’s certainly easier to cope with. I’m sure you’re feeling a bit better about that! Time to move on to the next stage. Oh yes, there’s more!

First, you might like to take a break – get yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee and calm down. This next stage might give you a bit of a shock.

Okay, I’m assuming by now you’ve enjoyed a nice cuppa and you’re feeling able to move on to the next stage. Deep breath now …

The critical stage

Here we are at the critical stage. What I want you to do now is take another long hard look at your list. You’re going to have to be ruthless now, utterly without compassion. I want you to do some more whittling. And when I say whittling, I mean to the bone! When this stage is completed you’ll hardly recognise your list. I want you to slim it down to just three items. Yep, you heard me … just three!

I know, sounds harsh, but it has to be done. Some of those items are so-o-o-o important to you, I know. But they have to go. I told you, it’s time to be utterly ruthless. Cut everything out that’s not absolutely necessary. If it doesn’t seem to scream out its importance to you, give it the boot. It’s gone! Forget about it!

Wow, that feels good! Doesn’t that feel good? Okay, it feels terrible as well, since you’ve just dumped some items that were very close to your heart. But it feels good to finally have a short, manageable list. Agreed? Aw, c’mon, you’ll get over it … you’ve only lost about a zillion to-do things (that frankly you were never likely to do anyway).

What about the other things, the ones you’ve dumped?

Forget about them, don’t let them even enter into your mind. They’re history! Sorry, I know you didn’t want to hear that, but they’re done away with. Just a fading memory. We’re going to deal with that short to-do list now, that’s all that matters. But those other things, I hear you plead … sshhh … calm down, we’ll deal with that problem in a minute.

Okay, now we’ve just got a to-do list of three items. Three things that you’ve been meaning to do for ages. And three things that, by your own definition, are time-critical.

Action time!

Okay, now it’s time to get things done. Enough with the lists, enough with the procrastination, time to actually get things done. Okay, I’m assuming you’ve taken the rest of the day off to get over the shock, and you’ve had a good sleep. Now it’s morning, and you’ve turned your computer on, and hey presto, you’re faced with a lovely to-do list, lovely in the sense that it’s only three items long and you really want to get them done.

So now your job is to start at number 1 (I’m assuming you’ve listed them in order of importance). Roll your sleeves up and get busy! Start right in on number 1 and give it all you’ve got. Keep at it! See if you can actually complete that first task before lunch. If you can manage it, it will give you a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

After a break and a bite to eat, start in on number 2. You’re probably all fired up after number 1, so it’ll be easy to keep up the momentum. Really do your best to get a result. If all goes well you’ll have that list of three dealt with today. But if you don’t manage it, don’t worry. You’ll have done your best. You’ll have actually made a start, and you’ll probably have one or two items finally crossed off your list … forever. Result!

Now, before you turn your computer off for the night, and just before you turn yourself off for the night, review your list again. You might still have one, maybe even two items left from your list of three. Okay, then promote one or two from the list of items you ditched (told you I’d get round to dealing with them!), and now you have a brand new list of just three items for tomorrow.

Satisfaction!

Now you can feel rightly satisfied. You’ve finally achieved something! You’ve identified the most pressing items and you’ve tackled them. And you’ve made an impression on your short and oh-so-sweet to-do list, crossing off at least one or two items for good. And that felt so good, yeah?

And the beauty of it is, it’s an ongoing process. Every day you’ll be faced with just that short list. And every day you’ll make real progress, achieving more with a tiny, practically stunted little list than you ever did with that ridiculous gangly thing that’s been hanging round your neck since the dawn of time.

Congratulations!

You’ve just transformed your to-do’s into ta-dah’s! And you can now get used to seeing real progress on a daily basis, and never again have that sinking feeling when you see your ever growing and perpetual to-do list! 

Smile! Isn’t life just truly amazing??