Nothing makes me feel more satisfied than a bout of productivity that sees a whole heap of working being done! So this post is all about my secret weapon to be productive and kick butt – utilizing lists.
I don’t want to blow my own whistle or anything like that but I have to give myself credit and say I do get shit done. I am currently working full time, studying full time and running my business on the side. Keep in mind that not only is doing two things full time pretty crazy but think of all of the extra commitments that come like after work events, assignments, endless emails etc. I still manage to do the fun stuff like go on international holidays, have weekends away, make time to go to Pilates and have a social life. This isn’t by coincidence – it is by time management and making sure I am able to fit in everything I need and want to.
Lists are a huge contributing factor in my organization and ensuring EVERYTHING I need to do gets done – from walking the dog to securing massive deals with companies. This is a really honest look at how I use lists to get so much done and be productive. It is a method that genuinely works for me! So I want to explain the art of list making in depth to you so that you can then take this skill and use it to benefit your lifestyle.
I am a HUGE list maker! I honestly wouldn’t survive without lists because they put down all my tasks on paper and hold me accountable to doing them. Think of everything swirling around your head right now or things that pop up and you remember you have to do! If you write it down when you remember it then there is no chance of forgetting then never getting around to that task or being too late to the party (so to say) to do it.
I absolutely love the lists app on my iPhone because it allows for me to categorize and organize my thoughts into sections. I will give you an example of how I structure all of the things I need to do.
What kind of lists to have
The three main types of lists I have are; to do, emails, university, work and bills.
The to do list outlines the general day to day such as checking the mail, buying a dress for an event coming up, banking a cheque etc.
My emails list is a go-to place for me when I am answering my emails because it reminds me of the crucial, time-sensitive emails I need to get back to ASAP. These emails might also be ones that require a little extra effort such as doing up a proposal or sending an invoice.
The University list might say things like; read chapter 12 of textbook, write email to tutor with questions, work on marketing report.
Work is usually the busiest because it will remind me of the posts I need to write next and videos I need to film or edit. I will also have larger tasks on here such as website redesign or new business cards so while some are quick and can be crossed of easily – others live on this list for quite a while.
Bills is all about which bills I need to pay in order of when they are due next. There is nothing worse than getting charged a late fee for forgetting about a bill so this is fantastic to stay on top of everything. On here I will have my rent, phone bill, insurance, car rego etc.
With my full time work that is a whole other ball game so I have a whole separate set of lists for that which I won’t go into but I will tell you that they tremendously help me stay organized and on track.
Keep in mind these lists are usually around 10 items long so not as simple as remembering to do just a couple of things. Imagine if you had to remember all of this on the top of your head – you are bound to forget something.
I even go as far to make lists of blog ideas of filming ideas that way if I am ever running low on inspiration I always have a catalogue of options to choose from. I also have broad lists about things like holidays. Currently I am planning another trip to the US so when I see something interesting from California pop up on Instagram or an ad I will pop it into my list to think about later.
I hope that this article has shown the magic of list making and how you can get into the habit of using lists to structure and organize your day and everything you need to do! That is all from me since I have talked your ear off enough but I love writing these types of posts and really aim to write a few more posts around this topic – I’ll put it on my list ;)
Thanks for reading!
