How to organize your (multiple) to-do and to-do lists

It is common to try to organize our day to day ordering tasks within the famous to-do lists, to-do lists with what we need to solve. The problems with this strategy, however, begin to emerge when the number of lists is multiplied without criteria, or even when we cannot handle everything that is listed to be solved.

Organization specialists and psychologists explain that not managing to-do lists is common, and does not invalidate the use of the technique. Just set rules and don’t abuse daily tasks.

First, you need set your reminder style🇧🇷 Are you going to use your smartphone and apps that offer this function, or are you going to adopt the good old paper agenda? Having multiple lists in different places will make you forget what and where you wrote it down, so you have to choose a style. If in doubt, test each of the possibilities, and choose the one that suits you best.

Another important point is linked to what goes on a to-do list. Don’t write down things you want to accomplish without a set deadline, like thinking about a print to change pillow covers. If you’re not going to the throw pillow store that day, check this idea off your to-do list. If you want, create a ‘wish list’ with long-term desires, but among the day’s tasks it’s important to put only what you should accomplish in the next few hours.

The day only has 24 hours, so there’s no point in putting 245 items on your agenda. Not being able to cross off all the planned tasks can fill you with a sense of incompetence and frustration. Nothing better than well-marked obligations and a delicious feeling of accomplishment.

prioritize🇧🇷 Not everything needs to be done with the same haste and dedication. One of the techniques that can help you define what to do for the day is the 1-3-5: opt for one big task, three medium and five small things a day.

Another option is the 3+2 strategy: three large and two small tasks. Major items should take two to three hours, small items 20 minutes.

A third strategy is that of 6 boxes🇧🇷 On a sheet of paper draw one vertical and two horizontal lines to create six little boxes. Identify five of the spaces with areas you want to focus on throughout the day and then fill them with tasks that will help you achieve those goals. If any task is not related to any of the five important points, put it in the sixth space.

Remember to focus on the top five. In the morning, set aside five minutes to make your boxes. Every hour of the day, spend one minute checking priorities and at the end of the day, five more minutes to evaluate how the technique helped you.

And if up there you chose to make your lists with the help of your smartphone (or even if you’re going to use paper, but want to know more), check out some apps that can help you with the task of organizing your life.

– Evernote: Your notes are synced across all your devices, anywhere, anytime.

– Day One: a kind of diary, where it is possible to register the events of the day and also ideas for the future, everything automatically saved in the cloud.

– Things: A to-do list that can be sorted by priority and also include details of how the tasks will be accomplished.

– Asana: a list of tasks and projects that can be managed collectively, for example within a company.