A Twist on the 'To Do' List

Engaging in an email today, someone was telling me about their ‘to do’ list.

I use to make these. I stopped a little over 2 years ago.

Why?

Because that list was never ending - and for all I crossed off or deleted, so many more things were added by the end of each day.

I found it a dreadful list that was not rewarding me really at any time - but for the split second of crossing one thing off.

Think about it - if you are an ‘open’ business - that list will never be completed - not even on the last day of any year - as your business never stops.

Having that list can sometimes do more harm than good on a psychological level - and that might affect how you conduct your business or day without you even realizing it’s subtle yet powerful effect. That ultimately leads to it affecting your success.

When most look at their  ‘to do’ list, rarely are they jumping for joy. Usually, they make a big sigh or something - or read the list a few times to decide what they could get done to cross off something for the day - to make them feel like they at least achieved that.

And if you had 10 things you were supposed to get done, but only did 1, it’s hard to think really awesome about yourself or feel even great that you accomplished that 1 task - when you know that now the next day you will have 10 more things on top of what you add for that day to do.

So see - it’s really a horrible list.

I am aware that not everyone dreads this list - but I am talking about the majority of individuals. And I am also aware that some professionals really do know how to reward themselves for even just one task accomplished. And for those: kudos! - you ‘get it’ :)

But to make this situation a lot more fun and something you look forward to whether you are in either of those categories above, I have made a twist on this ‘to do’ list.

Mine is:  “Actions That Get Me Closer To What I Want”

It’s a longer title - but who cares. No one sees it but you.

Look at how uplifting and powerful that statement is!

It almost begs you to jump right in on all of the tasks instantly! And you are filled with excitement to do so! You are all pumped up before you even read item #1! Isn’t this a better way to start your morning --- and keep you going throughout the day? Amazing what this does to your psyche! :)

You can tweak this title if you want - make it shorter or more specific.

Ex:  Replace the ‘What I Want” with the goal you have for the year or month or week - however you set your ‘to do’ list up.

or shorten it:

Ex: Actions Towards My Success

You get the idea. Play around with it some.

But the words need to be powerful, filled with energy and the statement needs to resonate with you. Once you craft it this way, you incorporate the tasks into your work easier and you enjoy engaging in whatever these tasks are more - without you even realizing.

You can have more than one way to phrase your old ‘to do’ list and more than one ‘to do’ list also. Maybe use one name for your typical ‘daily’ to do’s and maybe use another for your longer term goals -  your monthly or yearly or even 5 year plan.

But there are 2 Crucial Keys you should take in order for this twist to be even more effective, refreshing and fun!

1. You replace the words ‘to do’ with the word Action

2. You get rid of the word ‘list. It’s irrelevant. You don’t even have to put your tasks in a listing format.

Make this more fun. Work should be enjoyable. We do it for so many hours of our lives, you need to find ways to incorporate fun into it.

Ex: Take a blank piece of paper and hold it landscape style. Put all your items in bubbles and have them float around. Don’t number them. Just put the words in the bubbles and arrange them however you want.

Use different colors if you want to represent the more important tasks that would normally be labeled in the Franklin Covey way of A, B, C. So make A red or your color preference. You get the idea. Or just keep them all the same color. Experiment with this and how it works for you each week/month.

If you do this, there are 3 hidden benefits:

- you might discover that you can link some tasks together and accomplish two things in one

- you might start to recognize a pattern about your ‘to do’s that are a waste your time or that you write down as habit - but you already know and never forget to do

- it might cause you to see some things about your business in a different way - such as associate people or ideas together that you would have never thought of - if this was in list format and one task was #2 and another task was item #10

The last tip I will give you is to create your daily actions on a white board.  I won’t take up your time to state all the incredible powers of this fabulous board - but once you start to use one - you will know :) I love all my white boards!

But the purpose of this blog topic was to reinforce: You should like what you do and be excited to start each day and work your day.

Your new “Action xxx” (whatever you call it) is a catalyst to help make this happen for you. It gets you into a positive and energized mindset and it allows you to have some fun doing what you do throughout each day.

When you constantly go back and read that top line (of what you have called this) - no matter what kind of day you are having or if you are feeling tired - this will instantly pump you up and keep you going! Or if you are like me and always are energetic and positive minded - it just fuels that more!

All of this ultimately will help you achieve more each day, so you can reach success quicker or maybe just elevate the level of success you already have overall. At the very bare minimum - it will be something you now look forward to reading and writing even - vs something you normally haven’t.

Let me know how this works for you. I would love to know - so shoot me an email.

Jaxi  :)
ps: If you would like more help on this topic or anything else - get in touch. I would be glad to discuss with you how I can be your personal Silent and Strategic Partner in All Your Endeavors!