To Do List Part 2: You need a Due Date

Alright, the papers I have sitting everywhere are now all put on the separate To Do lists that I wrote about in my last blog.

Now the next big step is making sure we have due dates or time-lines to get the tasks done. Why do we need a To Do list with dates/times for each task? For many reasons, including the fact that if there is no deadline or set time we will do the task....it will never get done.

I don't know about you but after looking through all my loose papers I have realized how many things just live on my To Do lists. They have been things that I need to and would like to do for so long. So why are they still on my list? Because they do NOT have due dates.

Since we have separated our lists into: Today, This Week, This Month, Next 3 Months, etc etc, we are giving ourselves a due date to follow. So take your Today list for example. If you have 5 things on your list, jot down when you need to get those tasks done. This can be an exact time or a deadline to help you stick to getting it done.

Alright, I'm off to sleep which is the next thing on my To Do list tonight.

Next we learn how to make our To Do lists doable.

To Do List Part 1: Make a NEW To Do List

Ok its official, my To Do list is a To Do book!!! Between work, home, car, projects and my part-time work- the lists never end. I have little pieces of paper everywhere I look. I think I spend more time making lists than actually getting what is on the lists done!

My husband and I have been experimenting with different list writing techniques. When we do not have a good list, things can get ugly. Bad lists = bad fights with Jason and I.

We have recently learned that list writing is a technique that needs to be mastered. I am not quite there yet but join me on my quest to create the perfect lists.

The first thing I am going to do is split my pieces of paper up into the following lists:
1- Today
2- This Week
3- This Month
4- Next 3 Months
5- This Year
6- Eventually

I'm going to get started on my new TO DO list creation. Start yours too and let me know how it goes!

Next step is putting a due date on your tasks.