Making lists helps us corral information and get our heads around big tasks. But lists are still a tragically underused tool. Theyāre great for productivity and big goals, sure, but when you get creative with them, thatās where the magic really happens.
Here are a few that youāre probably not making but that could make your life measurably better in ways youāll be able toā¦ list.
š”#1 Your (future) end-of-year accomplishments
Picture yourself in November or December. What three to five things did you do over the course of the year, professionally, that made the year so amazing?
Note: You can do this for your personal life too.
Now, between these two end-of-year lists, you have six to 10 things that should be your top priorities for your year.
Every time you plan your weeks or your days, make sure youāre taking some steps to bring at least one of them to fruition.
š”#2 A ādoneā list
Make a ādoneā list each day listing the various things youāve, well, done. If this list contains items beyond your original to-do list, then you can add these items to your to-do list and immediately cross them off. Is this a little silly? Sure, but itās oh so satisfying.
š”#3 A ālaterā list
If another task or idea or question occurs to you while youāre doingĀ deep work, write it down on a ālaterā list. Later, when you take a scheduled break, you can do that task. But if you start looking in your inbox now, 20 minutes later, youāll still be deleting newsletters you canāt remember subscribing to, and the ādeep workā groove will be gone.
š”#4 A ādo not buyā list
You walk down the toothpaste aisle, see your brand of toothpaste, and think, āHey, we use that toothpaste! Iāll just grab a tube.ā Great. Except youāve forgotten that you had that same thought during your last four visits to the grocery store, and you donāt go through a tube of toothpaste per week.
This error gets magnified at warehouse-type stores where, āHey, thereās our cooking spray!ā results in eight spray cans piling up in your pantry.
A ādo not buyā list reminds you that you will not be able to fit more frozen waffles in your freezer space.
š”#5 A ālast doneā list
When did you last change the filters on the air conditioner, clean out the gutters, have your furnace serviced, get your oil changed, change the batteries on your smoke detector, or go to the dentist?
If you canāt remember āwhen did I lastā¦ā (or you share these duties), then you need a ālast doneā list.
This can take two forms: either a master list of when tasks were ālast doneā or, where appropriate, you could put the date near the item in question.
š”#6 A gift idea list
Every December, many of us puzzle and puzzle until our puzzlers are sore aboutĀ what to give friends and family. An ongoing gift list makes holiday time (and birthdays) much less stressful. Start aĀ Google docĀ or put a page in your planner for gift ideas. Whenever you have a good idea, jot it down.
When the relevant occasion roll around, youāll have plenty to work with and a lot less angst.
š”#7 An āanytime funā list
The problem with free time is that itās often hard to seize. When such time appears and we lack the energy to think of great things to do, we turn to whatever is easiest, even if this involves perusing Facebook posts from people we didnāt like in high school anyway. An anytime fun list presents an alternative. What easy, low-energy activities can you do at any time and that youād enjoy more than Twitter? Ideas might include jigsaw puzzles, reading poetry, taking a soak in the tub, coloring, flipping through coffee-table books on home design, texting friends, etc.
When you make this list, you can then figure out how to keep necessary materials handy (e.g., visiting the library every three weeks to check out those coffee-table books).
When you realize youāve got a free 15 minutes, you can pull something from this list and immediately start enjoying that time.
I use Notion for my lists How about you?