📝 The Lists You Need to Make
Making lists helps us corral information and get our heads around big tasks. But lists are still a tragically underused tool. They’re great for productivity and big goals, sure, but when you get creative with them, that’s where the magic really happens. Here are a few that you’re probably not making but that could make your life measurably better in ways you’ll be able to… list. 💡#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 you’re taking some steps to bring at least one of them to fruition. 💡#2 A “done” list Make a “done” list each day listing the various things you’ve, 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 it’s oh so satisfying. 💡#3 A “later” list If another task or idea or question occurs to you while you’re doing deep work, write it down on a “later” 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, you’ll still be deleting newsletters you can’t remember subscribing to, and the “deep work” groove will be gone. 💡#4 A “do not buy” list You walk down the toothpaste aisle, see your brand of toothpaste, and think, “Hey, we use that toothpaste! I’ll just grab a tube.” Great. Except you’ve forgotten that you had that same thought during your last four visits to the grocery store, and you don’t go through a tube of toothpaste per week. This error gets magnified at warehouse-type stores where, “Hey, there’s our cooking spray!” results in eight spray cans piling up in your pantry.