One of the most basic ways to effectively plan your day is by making a to-do list.
It works great, and it feels amazing to check off your accomplishments for the day, but there’s something that most of us get wrong when we make to-do lists.
Here’s what it is:
We jot down a master list of ALL the tasks we need to do, continually adding to it when new things come up. This list essentially never ends, because there are always new projects, chores, or obligations that come to us.
An email comes in? You’ve got to reply to it.
Your kids messed up the kitchen? Now you’ve got to clean it.
You notice the disorganized pile of papers on your desk? Ugh, you really should clean those up.
Continually adding tasks to our to-do list (whether it’s on paper or a mental list) means our list is always “open” and therefore never finished.
Why Are Open To-Do Lists Bad?
Muchelle B, a slow productivity YouTuber, gave a good analogy to explain why these “open” to-do lists are a problem.
Imagine that a friend calls you up and explains that she’s really stressed and could use someone to help her pack for a trip she’s leaving on that night. Of course, since she’s a friend, you’re more than willing to help out.
You go over and help her get packed up, then your friend says, “Hey, sorry about this, but I’m just really stressed, so could you also help clean the house for me? Oh, and can you pick up groceries?”
If you’re like most people, then the additional requests from your friend might take you slightly aback. You’re probably going to feel some resistance to do those things, because she’s asking for more than you signed up for.
It’s kind of like she’s taking advantage of the fact that you’re willing to help.
Because of that, you may think twice about trusting her the next time she asks for help, because you’ll always be wondering if she’s going to ask more and more of you.
Now, think of yourself as that needy friend. And think of your future self – the one who’s going to accomplish the items on your to-do list – as yourself.
If you continually heap more and more tasks on yourself – more than you originally thought you were signing up for – you’re likely going to feel some resistance to doing everything.
Plus, you might even start to distrust yourself when you make to-do lists in the future, because part of you will always suspect that a to-do list is really a never-ending list of more and more tasks.
That’s not how to-do lists should be at all!
It’s fine to have a master to-do list of sorts, where you can brain dump all of the things you need to get done, but you should NOT work on this as a daily to-do list.
A daily to-do list should have a clear ending point. Otherwise, you might get extremely unmotivated, because you’ll feel like tasks and projects continually pile up on each other.
How Can I Make a Closed To-Do List?
When you make your to-do list for the day, include the tasks that you can reasonably finish that day, then draw a line underneath it.
(How many tasks can you do in a day? Use your best judgment, but it’s probably not more than 10 tasks. Some people make it a rule to fit their daily to-do list on a Post-It Note. If it doesn’t fit on a Post-It Note, it probably won’t fit in your day.)
Your to-do list is now closed and not open to getting more tasks on it.
Throughout the day, complete all the tasks on your list. If you don’t finish something, you’ll have to move it to your to-do list for tomorrow, which will create a backlog.
But what if something comes up you didn’t plan for?
Obviously, there are rare occasions where true emergencies arise and you’ll have to do things you didn’t plan on doing.
But often, the things that come up that we classify as “urgent”… really aren’t that urgent.
There’s a great book called Do It Tomorrow And Other Secrets of Time Management by Mark Forster, and in it, he gives an amazing hack for keeping your sanity when unexpected tasks come up (hint: it’s in the title).
DO. IT. TOMORROW.
If a new task arises, add it to your tomorrow (closed) to-do list. If tomorrow’s already looking too busy, add it to the next day.
Most things aren’t so urgent that putting them off until tomorrow will be a big deal.
Say a co-worker asks for a favor that is do-able, and you’d genuinely like to help. If it’s not urgent, say, “I’d love to help you with that, but I’m fully booked for today. Does tomorrow work?”
Simple, right?
Here’s your challenge for the week:
Try out this closed to-do list and see what a difference it makes in your life.
And remember, once you’re done with your tasks, treat yourself to something fun or get some much-needed rest. You deserve it.
Best of luck!
