How To Create a To Do List You Actually Stick With and Do

This post is Day 7 of 30 Ways In 30 Days To Redesign Your Life With Photography. This series seeks to provide you with practical steps to get you from wherever you are today, to exactly where you want to be – this year! If your goal has always been to take your photography to a whole new level, hang on and start enjoying a new lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

“My issue is with setting “to do” lists. I can set great goals and even know exactly what I need to do to get there – no problem. But when it comes to actually carrying out the steps I know I should take – I fail. I find items just staying on the list day after day.  I’d be interested in hearing how you go about making your to do lists and how you make sure you complete everything.”
Travis

As I was gearing up for today’s post, I went over to Google to see how many results would rank under “to do lists”. Close to 600 million entries appeared for this search phrase. And the suggested related searches ranged from “printable to do lists”, “to do lists iphone”, “to do lists templates” and “to do list software”. Obviously there are many issues related to just a standard to do list, and it really comes as no surprise.

As a society, we’ve achieved overload. We try and accomplish more in one day than people were doing in a month a few decades ago. It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century. We are at information overload, and we simply don’t know how to control it all.

Add into the equation the need and desire to get more done. Our families have demands, friends have demands, jobs have demands, and then we add in the desire to start up a new venture. Something has to give, and it can only be sleep for so long before our health pays the price.

I once attended a seminar in which the presenter said something that really stuck with me.

Everyone has 24 hours a day. Some people learn how to use those 24 hours more effectively than others. You and Bill Gates both have the same timeframe; Bill has figured out how to get more done within that time frame, and therefore is more productive throughout the day.

When I heard that, I went on a quest to find out how I could get more done every day, and enjoy every minute of the day as well. I’ve taken a ton of organization management classes over the years, and have read a lot of books on the subject. While I don’t consider myself an expert on the subject, I do know how to get things done. And what I’ve discovered is: [Read more…]