Slap together your To Do’s

I’ll show you a list…Eggs, butter, cereal, cheese…

Here’s another one…Hammer, screwdriver, pliers, saw…

Chances are, if I asked you to continue the list, you would have added this on the first one – coffee, milk, bread, vegetables, etc. Your mind immediately associated the items to a grocery list. 

On the second list, you might have added these…nails, wrench, measuring tape, drill, etc. You associated the items to a tools list.

You created a pattern.

That’s the problem when we make To Do lists. We make a pattern so we tend to create a list from one order of priority and not the other. Let’s say my top priorities today are: prepare for my baby’s birthday, prepare an inspirational speech for a company, and go to the bank for deposits. How should I do my list? You slap them together. In other words, you assemble them in different sections.

Example:

To Do List – September 20, 2012

1) Go to the bank.

1.1 Set the time to deposit the money. 9:30-10:00am

2) Daughter’s birthday.

2.1 Order birthday cake

2.2 Order/Cook food

·      Spaghetti, Kare-kare, Puto, Dinuguan, Adobong Manok

2.3 Send Invitation

2.4 Buy Baloons

2.5 Buy Alexa a birthday dress.

3) Prepare for an inspirational talk.

3.1 Get the TNA (Training Needs Analysis) of the company.

3.2 Prepare Outline and content.

3.3 Finalize presentation

3.4 Make PowerPoint.

3.5 Send my personal biography and the PowerPoint to the company.

I learned more about being productive by reading the book of my friend Yeng Remulla: Productive Pinoy! Grab a copy of his book if you want practical tips on being productive.

Here’s a link to his site. 

http://www.productivepinoy.com/