Search:

Amber’s Home and Office Organizing Blog index

To Do Lists

Why do to do lists fail?

I used to be a list maker but not anymore. On occasion I’ll make a short to do list on a weekend if there’s a lot on my mind, but on a daily basis, it’s not really present. Running across to do lists is common when I’m organizing an office. Notepad after notepad will have scribbled lists. Most of the stuff on the list is irrelevant when we find it. Time has passed and what was important then isn’t important now.

So why do to do list’s fail? Two reasons. I think they fail because there are no deadlines or dates associated with each item and things that don’t really need to be done, clutter up the list. Getting things done takes time and completing everything on a to do list is usually unrealistic. Something comes up unsuspected. Something takes us financially in a different direction. Or something on the list really wasn’t important and shouldn’t have been there to begin with. There are essentials and there are non-essentials. There are urgent matters and non urgent matters. What’s important is to get good at recognizing the urgent. Things end up on the list we think are important and urgent, but in reality they are not. 

A good question to help filter urgent items is: What are the consequences of leaving items undone? What is the worst that will happen?  If anything falls through the cracks it should be the unimportant items. There’s a big difference between things that should be done and things that must be done. We “should” on ourselves a lot and guilt sets in. Take “should” out of your dictionary and add in the word “must” and “will”.  Focus on saying, “I will do the things that must be done.”

Let me given an example. Perhaps you should get the photos ordered on Snapfish.com, shop for a new purse, and  meet your girlfriend for coffee. What would be the consequences of not completing the “should” list? Zero. No consequences. Now suppose you ignored cleaning out the leaves in the gutters, filling up the car with gas, and shopping for milk. The consequences would be remarkable. You’d do major damage to your home, you’d be stranded alongside the road and your kids would have proper nutrition.

See my point? What’s on your to do list you could cross off? How will you prioritize your day to schedule what must be done?   

*Screen Name:
Question or comment:
This is a private message or question
	* denotes required field