How To Use To Do Lists

This is going to sound so dramatic, but to do lists are what keeps me sane. When you feel like you’re in over your head, to do lists can help structure everything you need to do and guide you in when and how you should do it. Having everything broken down into little steps on paper can help you realise it’s not actually so bad, especially when you see how quickly you’re ticking off those boxes. Which, by the way, can we talk about ticking off boxes for a while? In my opinion, it’s one of the best feelings ever! You feel like you really accomplished something, which is a very rewarding feeling, and the ticked box is right there to remind you of all you’ve already managed to do. It’s pretty awesome.
I want to share a few different kinds of to do lists with you, and how you can use them to make your life so much easier.

 The Notebook

A simple notebook is great because it’s so versatile. You can write different types of to do lists in it, along with random notes, thoughts, etc. You can arrange a notebook exactly how you want and need to. Let me give you a few examples of how I’ve used notebooks for to do lists before.

A big task

When you’ve got a huge project going on, whether that’s rebuilding a room in your house, an important thesis, or a work project, it can be really nice to write down everything that needs to be done in a structured manner. This way you can see exactly what needs to be done, and you can prioritise and schedule your activities accordingly.

A weekly to do

I tried out this method after I saw a Dutch beauty blogger (Beautygloss) use it. She uses two pages out of a notebook to write down all she needs to do that week, and then uses different coloured highlighters to indicate what needs to be done when. I liked this method, but often found myself changing the lists and inserting more stuff throughout the week, thus making a mess of the pages. It might definitely work for you though!

Mini notebook

I always carry this tiny notebook in my purse, which I use to jot down grocery and to buy lists. I’m one of those people that will walk into a store and forget what they wanted to get there. So whenever I remember I need to buy something at a certain store, I will write it down in my little notebook, and always have it handy.

The Agenda

Another place you can write down to do lists is your agenda. This is great because you can plan what you need to do around where you need to be. It’s a lot easier time-management wise.

Post-its

What I like to do best when writing my to do lists in my agenda, is to use a separate post-it for every day. This way there’s enough room in the actual agenda to write down your time schedule, and you can see your to do list right next to it. You can also rip it out when you’re done with it, or stick an unfinished to do list to another day.

One day per page agenda

In those big agendas where one day fills a whole page and you can manage your activities by hour, you can plan your to do list and assign a time frame to it right away. However, because it’s easy to lose your structure with this one, I’d recommend you to combine this with a separate, more structured to do list, and use the agenda simply to plan when you’re going to work on what part of the to do list.

Dry-erase lists

Whiteboard

A whiteboard, placed somewhere prominent, is a great place to write down your daily or weekly to do list. It’s right there where you can see it, and you can easily wipe it clean and write a new list at the end of the day.

Picture frame

I found a really cute DIY on Pinterest, where you simply frame a piece of lined paper, and write on the glass of the frame with a dry-erase marker. You can place the frame on your desk and write your to do lists on it!

Life binder

I already showed you this in my life binder post, but wanted to place it here as well. Similarly to the picture frame, you can insert a template into a folder in your life binder, and write on it with a dry-erase marker. This way you can reuse it countless times!

Digital

Digital to do lists are quickly becoming my favourite. I shied away from them for a long time because I love to actually write, but I’m seeing more and more of the advantages as time proceeds, the biggest being the option to insert more to do’s whereever, and re-scheduling and reassigning them.

Notes

Every smartphone and computer has some kind of note function, that you can use to write the most basic of to do or grocery lists. I often use this for my groceries.

Calendar

You can insert your to do lists as tasks in your calendar, assigning them to a time frame, similar to using post-its in an agenda.

Apps

There’s tons of to do list apps out there these days. I know that Evernote is a very popular one. I’ve been using Wunderlist myself. It’s a free website that offers a lot of nice options such as structuring your lists into categories, sharing them with others (sharing a cleaning schedule with your family, anyone?), or having recurring tasks that come back every day, week, month… Wunderlist also has a smartphone app that automatically syncs with the website, and all other apps you install (like tablet). I have the online version and the Android app, and am currently waiting for them to finish the Windows 8 app.

Of course this is only a fraction of all the possibilities there are regarding to do lists, but I hope this helps you find your ultimate to do list usage!

How do you use to do lists to make your life easier?