There’s a great little article over at What’s the next action about how to make an effective To-Do list. If you don’t find making lists effective, it might be because you’re doing it wrong!
Some of the key points are:
- Use verbs: Everything on the list needs to be actionable, which generally means it should start with a verb.
- Be specific: If an action isn’t specific enough, it’s easy to defer it since you don’t really know what the “next action” is.
- Group by context: Group your tasks by context. (at the computer, on the phone, running errands, etc.)
- Focus on “next”: Filter out everything except the very next task for each context.