How To Make Lists
So it’s no secret that I kind of love lists – bonus if you write them on a pretty printable with cute, colorful pens. If you ask me, you can never have too many lists to help yourself stay organized.
However after many years of avid list making, I have discovered, that you can, in fact, do it wrong! Here’s my advice for creating great lists that will keep your life organized or running smoothly rather than adding to the chaos.
And, please know, I’m sharing most of these things, because, I have actually done all the things before realizing that it wasn’t the best idea. So I’m definitely just as guilty as anyone.
So, here are the top mistakes to avoid:
- You have way too many lists. I think it’s hard to have too many lists, but there is a point where it gets to be too much. If you need a list to organize your lists, you might have crossed the line.
- You have lists in too many places. This is actually pretty common. There are lists in the notes app on your phone, more lists in your favorite to do app, more lists written in your planner, more lists in your favorite notebook, a few more lists on random sticky notes scattered around your home. If you do nothing else, limit yourself to one or two digital homes for lists and one or two physical homes.
- You keep the same information in multiple lists. This makes it hard to have a source for complete information. If you’ve got gift ideas in multiple places, when it’s time to buy gift, you won’t know where to look. Pick one place for each list.
- You don’t refer back to your lists. Don’t write and forget! Keep referring back to your lists.
- Be realistic. Your to do list should not be your wish list of all the things you wish a magical fairy would swoop in and do for you. It should be what you can actually get done.
Here’s what you should do instead:
- Do a “daily upload”. Take 5 minutes before you go to bed while you’re planning for the next day and gather any info that isn’t in the right place and put it there. For example, if you took a photo of a gift idea for your child while you were out shopping, but you keep your gift ideas list in your planner, take the time to put it there.
- Use running lists and temporary lists, and promptly discard those temporary lists. I have running lists in designated places, but then I also use one time lists for a specific purpose. For example, a packing list for a certain trip is a temporary list. Once you’ve packed, throw it away, so you don’t have a lot of papers you don’t need.
- Make a done list! I’m totally on board with adding things to your to do list as you go, so you can check them off.
What has been your experience with list making? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Ana Says
For my “to-do” list, I’ve started using my own modification of bullet journaling in a disk notebook and it’s keeping me more on-track than I have been for awhile.
Cathy Says
I love your idea of a daily upload! I’m going to start that tonight! Thanks! 🙂
Tina Says
Good point! I make lists for the night during my work day but forget I did them once I am home.
I keep a packing master list from which I do my actual temporary packing lists. When I was a teenager and we went camping on a lot of weekends I had a notebook on which I had my list written on the first and last page and then cut all the pages in between so that the lists of items were visible. Then I made a column with / for what I needed to currently pack and then completed to / to an X when packed.
Amber Says
I love the daily upload idea! I’m great at making lists in a lot of places, but not so great at making sure they end up in my planner and my Google Docs lists. Great tips!
Angie Says
I love List-Making! I can easily get overwhelmed with too many items on my daily list and I am also guilty of having too many lists in too many places. If my “immediate action” items list is longer than a 3×3″ Sticky Note, there is a good chance I won’t complete all the items in a day. I have specific lists for work, morning, evening and home stuff.
Written lists are great, but lately I’m loving making lists on my phone. They are not as messy to look at since I can easily erase and move items around. They are also easy to keep with me. The downside is that once an item is completed or erased, I lose the mental reward effect of not seeing it has been accomplished unless you create another list – whew, too much trouble!
Without specific daily routines, which are the memorized lists (ha!), I don’t think I could exist, so those invisible lists keep me together somewhat and lay the foundation to help make other things happen.
Thanks for your great organizing articles.
Nina Says
Put lists into an app. Set a date and reminder for each task. That way, the app will nag you til the task is done. You can keep lists of info within each task which is handy for planning birthdays etc. wunderlist or evernote or cozi are good.
Lori A. Says
I love to use the Wunderlist app. You can then have your list with you all the time. You can also invite people to the list. For example if I have a grocery shopping list I can invite my husband to that list and when he goes to the store he has the list with him and can mark off the items when he gets them. If I go to the store the next day the only items still on the list are the ones we need so no duplication and no forgetting the list at home or in the car.
Swapna Krishnan Says
I love lists and end up with too many lists. Your suggestion for sticking to 1-2 places is a great idea. I need to work harder at paring it down. I also need to be more realistic about what stuff i am actually going to be able to do
Allison Says
Having fibromyalgia means forgetting everything all the time. Not good with a busy household. I use Color Note on my Android phone. I have all my lists (grocery, to-do, things I see when I’m out, etc) in an organized “list”. I am getting better at looking at my phone. I also use a non-digital planner because i am so visual/tactile with appointments. I coordinate with my phone every few days.
Gary N H Says
I also love to make lists but I use Adobe Page Maker which will not work on my new computer. What program or app do you use.
Thanks
Gary