PLANNING
7 mistakes busy people make with their to-do list
You work hard. You write lists. And still, things slip. It is rarely you. It is how your plans are spread out. Here are seven common mistakes, and a simple fix for each.
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Everything is a top priority.
Twenty tasks, all urgent. So nothing is. Pick three things for today. The rest can wait.
Today
Three things. The rest can wait.
Big 3
The rest
You keep other people's promises in your head.
The signed contract. The final logo. You remember them at 10 p.m. Write down who owes you what, and check it once a day.
Waiting on
Who owes you what.
Your meeting notes live in five places.
A notebook, a chat, an email to yourself. Keep one card per meeting: who was there, what was decided, who does what.
Meeting
Who, what was decided, who does what.
Who
Agenda
Decided
Actions
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Ideas get lost before you can use them.
Your best ideas show up on the train or in the shower. Catch them in one place. Sort them later.
Ideas
Write it down now. Sort it later.
You plan the day, but not the week.
The day fills up fast. One look at the whole week shows where the gym, the deadline and dinner fit.
This week
Your week, day by day.
Notes
Big projects sit there as one scary line.
"Launch the website" never gets ticked off. Write down what done looks like, and the very next step.
Launch the new website
One project. One card.
Done when
Next steps
People
Notes
Work and life are on separate lists.
Then the dentist clashes with the deadline. Put work and home side by side, so you see the whole picture at once.
Home
Things to tick off, in order.