Home Sweet Home Office

To-do-lists are something that most people use. Even so, it is sometime controversial among time management trainers. The conventional wisdom is that a to-do-list is more of a diary of past accomplishments instead of a list of future tasks.

In spite of the criticism from some I use a to-do-list or task list on a daily basis. I prefer an electronic version. Microsoft Outlook includes a task section. An on going list is simple to manage and will give you an overall picture of what is coming next.

Early on I manually kept track of my daily activities in a date book. It was easy to write reference notes but it was a nightmare to search for a particular entry. It was also difficult and time consuming to reschedule a task.

Prioritizing is a main stay of a to-do-list system. There will most likely be more to do in a single day than is possible to squeeze in. So, the most important task should be done first. This makes perfect sense but I have added a few options to my own to-do-list.

I categorize my ongoing (repeating) tasks so that they are easier to spot. I add the words such as bill, or utilities, or credit card in front of each task. This makes a visual reference. This is an important step because it can save time by completing several similar tasks at once.

For example, instead of paying a bill one day and another bill the next, I can write any check that is coming due during the week.

As you complete each recurring task just change the date to the next due date. That task will be automatically moved forward. You will always be working in the future as soon as the present is taken care of.