As responsibilities increase we see ourselves inundated with more and more tasks. While it is wonderful to make progress in our life and take on more tasks, we must realize that we still have limited resources of time, energy and focus.
When we are busy juggling with too many tasks, it is very easy to overlook tasks which matter the most to us and which are most important. This happens when we try to make a mental note of the tasks and try to take on the tasks from this mental list that we prepare. Even the most intelligent person, or the person with a razor sharp memory may tend to forget tasks when we just make a mental note of it without putting down the list of tasks on Paper. There have been several times, when I have overlooked or forgotten an Important task just because I did not make a note of it on paper or on my smartphone and tried to rely on my memory for it.
Does this story sound familiar to you? Dont worry you have To Do Lists to your rescue.
So what is a To Do List ?
A To Do list is a list of tasks you have to get done. You may make a To Do List on paper, on your PC or even nowadays with the advent of smartphones and apps it can be made on your smartphone.
Why bother to make a To Do List ?
Making a To Do List has the following Advantages
a. The most important advantage is that it makes you more organized and focused.
b. Memory is a limited resource and often due to every day stress we may tend to forget tasks which we have made a mental note of, so making a note of it on a paper, PC, or on your smartphone could be a wiser choise.
c. Helps you from feeling overwhelmed thus reducing your stress, as tasks are listed down.
d. Once you list down your tasks it is easy to sort out your most important tasks.
How do I make a To Do List ?
a. Carry a small notepad with you to write down your tasks, nowadays even a smartphone can help you log your tasks.
b. Firstly write down tasks as they come to your mind however trivial they may be, this will help you capture the task you got to do without forgetting it.
c. Now that you have got all your tasks listed down, move the most important tasks to the top of the list. So the tasks with the highest priority are on the top of your list.
d. The topmost task is the task which requires your full attention and the task which you must aim at completing first.
e. On finishing a task on your To Do List, put a Tick Mark against the same.
f. At the end of the day review your To Do List to determine the tasks you completed and tasks which are incomplete.
g. The incomplete tasks can be moved onto your To Do List for your next day
Repeat these steps to build your To Do List and stay on top of your tasks.
The Key step is to review your To Do List at the end of the day and move the pending tasks to your To Do list for the next day.
Also do not forget to move the most important tasks to the top of the list as those are the tasks which require your complete undivided attention.
So get focused and stay productive.
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