Benefits of Using A To-Do List
Do you sometimes catch yourself wondering if it’s indeed the same 24hours that you share with everyone? Maybe, how do others stay so organized, keeping to time, and producing quality results in the same workplace?
The answer to the first question is obvious, yes it is the same 24hours. For the second question, everyone has different life hacks to help them be more productive in their chosen career. One of the most common ones is using the to-do list.
The to-do list is a list containing tasks you wish to achieve for the day. It usually entails first having the main goal, cutting down the goals into shorter goals which will then be arranged into the tasks that can be performed daily or weekly.
Those that use the to-do list have truckloads of testimonies to back up their decisions. Different people with their business getting stronger and better. Once you start using the to-do list, you will not want to do without it. This is probably where the arguments against using a to-do list stem from- that it makes one too regimented, stifled, leaving no room for spontaneity.
Here’s a list of benefits of using a to-do list so you can decide for yourself.
The To-do List Improves Your Time Management Skills
This benefit just has to come first. Using a to-do list helps you keep track of time and make good use of it. There’s usually a lot of work you have to get done every day. As that number keeps adding up, by the weekend, you have could have nothing but a heartbreaking pile of unresolved duties waiting for you after the weekend…or worse, it follows you into the weekend.
With a to-do list, things can become different. You take your time to carefully list all your tasks for the week and your list can be plotted in a way that helps you work better.
You Can Keep Track of Priorities
There’s so much to do, and sometimes unforeseen circumstances come to shake up your life. Sometimes positively, like increased demand for your company’s products because of one of your promotional posts going viral.
It could also be negative, like in the case of a small company, the abrupt resignation letter of one of your helping hands sitting on your desk one Monday morning can throw you off course.
Either way, a to-do list can keep you floating on those turbulent waves. Taking time daily to plan helps you arrange your list in order of priority that suits you, helping you give the best of yourself and your talents.
It Makes You Responsible
No career choice is easy. Every single one demands control, discipline, and persistence. Yours is not left out. Since using a to-do list is personal, you’ll need to be responsible to your yourself.
No one can beat you up for not keeping up with it but how much you want to achieve your goals pushes you to keep up. Your achievement is all on you and your failures too.
Also, you get to make decisions yourself. If anything comes up, you get to make changes, reviews, make corrections, score yourself, reward and yourself. In the long run, you will notice how much improvement you have been able to achieve. If that’s not responsibility then the whole meaning needs to be changed.
To-do List Takes You Closer to Your Goal
The whole concept of the to-do list is to help you achieve your goals in the most productive way you can.
The to-do list is crafted from main goals which are then broken down into baby goals, and distribute as tasks. It is these tasks that make up the to-do list.
As you finish your tasks, daily, weekly, monthly you hedge closer to your goal and will one day wonder how you got to be there. Scratch that, of course, you’ll know exactly how.
To-do List Motivates You
Using a to-do list means you’ve done an aspect of planning and simply looking at that is enough to get you started on them. As you scratch off the already achieved tasks, you are spurred to do more.
Imagine the joy of scratching off those tasks step by step. You’ll feel energized to set more and achieve more.
Punctuality Can Become Reality
If you’re someone that always has issues with being on time. You find it hard to meet up to appointments or deadlines, then a to-do list is what you need. You get to arrange your list the way you choose.
We recommend that your to-do list is arranged with time stamps i.e the maximum amount of time a task should take you. It allows you to predict your day, keeps you in check from being distracted while working, and has optimum time usage.
Keeps You from Being Distracted
Everyone knows how easy it is to get carried away while working. You could simply decide to take a break from that graphic design or inexhaustible spreadsheet to clear your head with a short break/social media visit, and that’s when it usually happens.
You could forget how important what you were doing is until two hours later or a call from a supervisor for an update. Remote job workers are more prone to this. This is why we recommend the to-do list.
Your to-do list should have actual stipulated time for tasks including breaks or entertainment. Also, these tasks could be set as reminders and alarms on your devices using the set time. This way, you will never want a “wake-up” call.
It Increases Your Productivity
With a to-do list, you can achieve more. Have you ever wondered how best to measure your productivity level? Are you getting closer to your career goals? How do you know if it’s increasing or decreasing? How do you know if to keep going or to increase your effort? That’s what a to-do list can do for you. We’ll tell you how.
With a to-do list, you can compare your previous list with the current list, easily noticing the differences as you put them side by side.
Take for an example, as a writer or an author, if last month, you were able to achieve writing four chapters daily, attend four book signing events, Read 3 books out of your year’s list, launch your blog, etc but this month you’ve been able to only write a chapter a day, attend one book event.
Where did all the energy of last month go? That’s a good question you’d need to ask yourself as it’s plain to see that productivity is dwindling.
Of course, you’ll need to take many factors into account, maybe you’ve been focusing too much on the blog? Maybe it’s deliberate? Did you get a new job? Did you feel sick? And many others.
Comparing your to-do lists can help you figure this out. Like a personal review system.
Helps You Focus
Do you ever feel like the world has left you behind or you’re not achieving much? Usually, this feeling comes from seeing posts about our friends or peers, people you believe you started together with but now suddenly seems like they’re way ahead of you in this business of professional growth.
That feeling can be depressing but with a to-do list, you can see for yourself that you’ve not been sitting on your oars. Looking at the long lists and the short steps you’re making towards your goal, you can be sure that you’re getting somewhere even if it does not look like it.
On this same note, you can be focused because of the knowledge you have. A lot of people jump from plan to plan, job to job. They see a friend posting a certification from an online course and they run to get one. Then another friend is talking about starting their own business suddenly, the idea begins to make sense to them too.
If you had a to-do list, it’d be easier to stay focused because you have a plan and a vision ahead. Unless you crumble the goal or cancel its value, your to-do list will always be valuable to you.
A To-do List Helps You Achieve Balance
If you feel that a lot of people are after a pound of your flesh or maybe you go often to bed after a hectic day yet, it doesn’t seem that you’re achieving enough. Or maybe your work hours are so crowded you don’t have time for anything else, then using a to-do list can be very helpful.
A to-do list may not only contain tasks for your business or career but include other life areas like mental, social, spiritual, physical, and emotional. It helps you plan, taking all these sides into account as you wish.
For instance, the Friday list may be:
- Go for a jog in the morning
- Study 1 chapter of the bible
- Attend Brainstorming session
- Presenting client proposal
- Complete and submit spreadsheet for tax payment of employees
- Schedule cyber security training for workers
- Visit the bank with the CEO by 11 am to finalize loan collection
- Continue working on a Ph.D. application for a Canadian scholarship
- Attend an online book club meeting
- Update my Facebook series post
Even if your list does not need to have the subheadings, at the end of the day you realize you were able to give more time to all sides- physical, social, mental, emotional, and spiritual. There you have your balance!
Consistency
The more you do a thing, the better you get at doing it. If you have issues with keeping to decisions you make or being regular on them, a to-do list can help. You might falter for a time, having to carry over tasks but with time you will achieve consistency.
You are Growing
Yes, you are! Is this not all that matters? Step by step, you are! The person you were yesterday is not the same you today. Something is being added and other things are removed from your person. You are getting to be a better version of yourself, someone you can be proud of.
There’s a thin line between stability and stagnation. You cannot be stagnant with a faithfully followed to-do list but you can get stable. With a to-do list, it’s easier to spot the change from one to another.
The real power of the to-do list is in the power of your desire. How much do you want to get to that goal? It’s what fuels, keeps you going day after day so if you’re still thinking about it, get right into it and your productivity awaits you.