Staying Organized With My New Daily To Do List

Working from home offers a lot of flexibility. It is a great feeling to not be bound by the 9 to 5 clock. Flexibility, if not managed properly, can also turn out to be a major hindrance to getting your work done.

‘Working From Home’ is surrounded with a lot of distractions – if you keep getting distracted, at the end of the day, you won’t have anything much to show for the day. Not a good feeling !!! You will end up feeling disorganized and over worked.

photo credit: TinyFizzyPop

So how do you stay organized and focused ? – The answer to this question is a two step process.

Having a daily to do list is the first step towards staying organized. Following the list and completing the tasks is the next step. First step is easy, it is the second step that most people fail at – I have struggled with step two for years. However in the past couple of years, I have turned things around.

In this post I am going to share with you how my daily to do lists help me stay organized.

If you are finishing up the daily tasks and making good progress on your project then you will be motivated to get more done and you will work harder and very soon you will complete your project. However, if you are not getting the daily tasks done, you will be discouraged, you will feel like you are stalling – and very soon you will lose your motivation and might even give up the project.

Progress Breeds Progress

Being able to tick off the tasks at the end of the day is a great feeling – The strike through fills you with a sense of achievement.

Like so many of you, I always start my day with a to do list in front of me. Over the years my to do list has evolved. Let me explain what I mean here -

A couple of years ago, I made some big changes to how I structure my to do lists. And these changes have made a huge difference to my working day.

I used to have to long daily to do lists. I would at the most complete 4 tasks and the rest would be moved to the next day. Again, the next day was the same story – long list, at the most 4 tasks done and the rest moved over.

Not being able to strike them all at the end of the day, always left with me a feeling of ‘I am not working hard enough‘. I was working hard but my to do lists told me that I was never good enough. Left me discouraged and sad

I ended up with a feeling of being totally unorganized. Daily to do lists are supposed to help you stay organized and not the other way round.

Two years ago I made some changes to my daily to do lists. And these changes have made a big difference to my productivity.

This is what my lists are like now:

1. Master Business List – Any new idea I get, anything and everything that I can think of that I need to do for my business goes into this list.

2. Master Personal List – All personal tasks that I can think of that needs to be done goes in here. Example – clean bedroom shelves.

3. Daily Business List – This is my daily to do list. It only has three tasks for the day. That’s it – no more. I am not tempted to add a fourth task – even if the kids are away and I have most of the day to myself. When I finish my three tasks for the day (both personal and business), if I still have the time and am in the mood to continue working, I will go do a task from my a Master Business List.

I am left with a sense of super achievement at the end of the day. I love the feeling I get when I strike off all my tasks for the day. I finish my day motivated and look forward to the next day.

4. Daily Personal List – Again, I only have three tasks. One of them is always the household chores – cleaning, cooking, kids pick/drop offs, kids extra activities etc etc. The rest two tasks are my choice – I usually pick at least one from the personal master list. Also, if one of them is a big task, I make sure that the other one is a tiny tiny task.

Having a small daily to do list has helped me tremendously. I am actually getting more done this way.

My small daily do do list is definitely helping me stay organized.

What about you – how do your to do lists help you stay organized ? Leave me a comment below – would love to hear more ideas on this topic.

Best,