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Part I

Why You’re Not Finishing Your List Of To-Do Items

Ideally, you should be able to cross off every item that appears on your to-do lists at the end of each day. If you’re having difficulty doing that, carefully read this section.

I’m going to cover the eight most common reasons people fail to get through their lists. Any one of them can wreck your productivity and prevent you from getting things done on time. Reason #1: You Misunderstand The Goal Of To-Do Lists

Why do you create to-do lists? What do you hope to accomplish with them?

Most people answer “to get things done.” But that’s not the purpose of a properly designed to-do list.

The main purpose of your to-do list is to help you organize your tasks and projects, and highlight the important stuff. It allows you to get everything out of your head, where things are likely to fall through the cracks. By writing them down, you’ll collect them in one place and gain a bird’s-eye view of your biggest priorities.

A list of items displayed in front of you is much easier to manage than the same list swimming around in your head. You can more easily organize tasks according to when they need to be completed and plan your day accordingly. This alone will help you to focus on your most important work.

Most people misunderstand the function of a to-do list. They believe it’s a tool that should help them to complete every task they think deserves their attention. On the contrary, a solid to-do list will focus your attention on the right work and prevent you from getting sidelined by less-critical items.

Your task list isn’t a tool for getting everything done. Rather, it’s a tool that will ensure you get the right things done.

It’s important to understand the difference. If you misinterpret the purpose of your to-do lists, you’ll end up creating and using them ineffectively. That, in turn, will guarantee that your lists hamper your productivity rather than increase it.

Later in this action guide, I’ll show you precisely how to create lists that works to your benefit. You’ll want to modify my system to accommodate your work flow and personal preferences, of course. But you’ll find the basic principles that underpin a solid to-do list system are universally applicable. Reason #2: You Neglect To Assign Deadlines

A to-do list without deadlines is a wish list. Nothing more. Without deadlines, we lean toward inaction.

Deadlines do more than just impose a sense of urgency. They help us to prioritize tasks and projects based on the amount of time we have to complete them. Additionally, when they loom, they spur us to take action.

Consider this: how quickly would you pay your credit card bill if there was no due date for the payment? How quickly would you pay your car registration? If you’re like most people, you’d postpone both tasks indefinitely.

This same outcome occurs when people create to-do lists and neglect to assign a deadline to each task. Without deadlines, there’s little impetus to act. Without an impetus, nothing gets done. This is the reason so many to-do lists spiral out of control, growing longer and longer by the day as tasks go unfinished.

This is a major problem because most people struggle with procrastination. Even those of us who have managed to curb the habit must be ever-vigilant lest it rears its head and regains a foothold in our lives.

Deadlines are the enemy of procrastination. They motivate us to take action and finish tasks. They also help us to gauge the effectiveness of our time management efforts. If we’re consistently getting important things done on time, we must be doing something right.

Deadlines also help us to decide where to spend our limited time and attention. This is important. There will always be more tasks to finish than the time needed to finish them. Deadlines help us to choose between competing tasks based on the goals we hope to accomplish.

Recall Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” If you choose not to assign deadlines to your to-do items, don’t be surprised when those items linger on your list. Reason #3: Your Lists Are Too Long

You know what I’m referring to. I’m talking about daily task lists that seem to never end. They go on and on, containing dozens of items.

Such lists are counterproductive in a number of ways. First, they’re distracting. They present too many options, each of which pulls your attention away from your most important work.

Second, they’re unrealistic. Lists that are too long eventually reach a point at which they become unmanageable. You’re unable to get to every item because there are simply too many of them.

Third, they’re discouraging. You finish each day realizing that you failed to complete the day’s list of tasks. This outcome, experienced over and over, can be devastating to your motivation.

Fourth, they encourage procrastination. By failing to complete your to-do items day after day, you train your mind to accept that outcome. With time, you’ll lose the drive, or impetus, to complete tasks in a timely manner.

You have a limited amount of time to get things done during the course of a given day. It follows that you should limit the scope of your to-do list to accommodate this constraint. If you only have four hours at your disposal, make sure the items on your to-do list can be completed within that time frame. Otherwise, you’ll set yourself up for failure.

Many people do a brain dump of every task they need or want to get done. They record everything on a single list. The problem is, they neglect to categorize these tasks and put them on separate lists according to context, priority, and urgency. The items remain on a single massive register, which is then referred to each day as a rolling reminder of what need to get done.

This is a terrible approach to task management. It results in a long list that grows longer as new tasks are added each day. Reason #4: Your Lists Have Too Much Variability

To-do lists that serve as brain dump repositories invariably collect tasks that vary too broadly in scope. Items that will take three minutes to complete are listed next to items that will take three weeks. High-priority tasks are listed next to low-priority tasks that can be put on the back burner indefinitely. You’ll also find items associated with a wide swath of unrelated projects.

In other words, there’s no connection between the various tasks.

There are serious consequences to this approach. First, faced with a long list of options, you’re likely to either become paralyzed with inaction or spurred to engage in a low-value activity, such as checking Facebook. This is what psychologist Barry Schwartz called the “Paradox of Choice.” The more options we have, the less capable we are to decide between them and the more anxiety we experience as a result.

A second consequence of having too much variability in your task lists is that you take longer to get things done. Whether you’re paralyzed with indecision or off checking Facebook as a way to avoid choosing between your many options, you ultimately waste valuable time. That hurts your productivity.

Third, too much variability in your to-do lists increases your stress levels. You’re more distracted, which means you’ll work less efficiently. You’re unable to choose which task you should work on, which destroys your ability to manage your time. Consequently, you’re left with less time to complete important projects, which forces you to work harder to get things done on deadline. With less time available, you’re more likely to miss deadlines, which can trigger feelings of guilt, shame, and frustration.

These circumstances can cause your stress levels to skyrocket. That, in turn, will make it more difficult to produce high-quality work you can be proud of, and do so on time.

The good news is that you can easily avoid the above problems once you know how to create effective to-do lists. I’m going to show you the steps later in this action guide. Reason #5: You Give Yourself Too Many Options

This issue is closely related to having too much variability in your task lists. But it deserves its own mention due to its effect on how the brain makes decisions.

We wake up in the morning with a limited store of cognitive resources. This store is quickly used up throughout the day as we make decisions. All decisions, simple and complex, take a toll.

This is the reason it’s easy to choose between multiple options in the morning - for example, should you have waffles, eggs, or cereal for breakfast? You have a full store of cognitive resources at your disposal. At the end of the day, however, even the simplest of choices can seem difficult. Should you go to the gym, watch television, or have a meaningful conversation with your spouse? You’re tired and have fewer cognitive resources at your disposal. As a result, your ability to make rational decisions is impaired.

This is called decision fatigue. It’s a state in which you’re less able to make good decisions because you’re mentally exhausted from making decisions throughout the day. In other words, your cognitive resources have been exhausted. You’re running on fumes.

This phenomenon is important to understand because it has a disastrous effect on our ability to decide how to allocate our time between competing options. We become less rational, less focused, and less able to control our impulses. Consequently, we’re more inclined to choose activities that offer immediate gratification over those that are arguably better for us, but require more effort.

For example, at the end of the day, suffering from decision fatigue, we’re more likely to watch television than go to the gym. We’re more likely to grab a bag of potato chips than prepare a salad or cook a steak. We’re inclined to choose the easy path.

To-do lists that present too many options exacerbate this problem. They force you to make unnecessary decisions concerning which tasks to work on. As mentioned above, each decision erodes your store of cognitive resources and increases your decision fatigue.

This eventually leads to a predicament known as “decision avoidance.” Confronted with too many options, you avoid picking from among them because doing so requires too much mental effort. Instead, you spend valuable time checking email, visiting Facebook, and reading news headlines, all in an attempt to sidestep the act of deciding what to work on.

The result is predictable. Your productivity plummets and your to-do items, including the important ones, go unfinished. Reason #6: You Neglect To Add Context For Each Task

One of the greatest failings in most to-do lists is a lack of context for individual tasks. Items are written down without any indication about the time needed to complete them, their priority, and the roles they play in achieving specific goals.

Without such context, it’s difficult to know which tasks deserve your immediate attention. In fact, it’s difficult to even know if you’re able to work on a particular task given your circumstances.

If you don’t know how long something will take to finish, how important it is, and how it contributes to your goals, how can you know whether you should work on it? If you don’t know whether you need access to certain resources to work on the task, how can you know whether working on it is even possible at a particular point in time?

The answer is, you can’t know.

This is the reason to-do lists that offer no task-level context are ineffective. In fact, they do more harm than good. Rather than prompting you to work on your most important tasks, they cause you to waste time on items poorly-suited for your current circumstances.

For example, suppose your to-do list includes the task “call my accountant.” It provides no information about the item’s priority. Do you need to call your accountant today or can it wait until next week? Nor is there any information concerning how long the call is likely to last. Will it take a few minutes or will you be on the phone for an hour? Also lacking are details regarding the purpose of the call. Do you need to ask your accountant a question about a potential write-off? Or do you want to explore the pros and cons of starting a shell corporation?

The point is, it’s difficult to know whether you should tackle a to-do item without knowing its contextual details.

When you create a list of tasks without context, you end up with options that are difficult to choose from. The result? Your list, which is supposed to be a record of things you need to get done, becomes a growing record of things left unaddressed and unfinished. Reason #7: Your Tasks Are Defined Too Broadly

The problem with broadly-defined tasks is that they’re too large in scope. Many lack a clear starting point and ending point. As a result, there’s no way to properly measure success.

For example, suppose one of the items on your to-do list is to “build a website.” This task is too broadly defined. Building a website involves several steps, many of which cannot be executed until others are completed. You would need to reserve a domain name, find a web host, create a hosting account, point your nameservers to the host’s servers, install Wordpress, install a theme, install Wordpress plugins, and much more.

In other words, this broadly defined to-do item is actually a full-blown project made up of numerous tasks.

If this item were on my to-do list, I wouldn’t know how to get started since I neglected to list the individual tasks. I would be inclined to procrastinate. That being the case, it would remain on my to-do list unaddressed, causing me anxiety that increases each day as I fail to make progress on it.

In contrast, a narrowly-defined task implies clear starting and ending points. For example, you’d know when the task “reserve a domain name” has been completed. You’d know when the task “find a web host” has been completed. These to-do items carry a singular objective, and it’s easy to know whether that objective has been met.

Projects masquerade as tasks when they haven’t been broken down to their constituent parts. Because the individual to-do items are left unspecified, it’s difficult to know when the projects have been completed.

This is a common failing in to-do lists.

For example, consider an author who intends to write a new novel. The to-do item “start writing novel” is too vague. There are too many tasks involved that are left unspecified. “Write the first draft of Chapter 1” would be more effective. Its specificity encourages action and makes it easy to know when the item has been completed.

Consider a college student who needs to prepare for an exam. The to-do item “study for exam” is imprecise. “Complete practice problems on pages 171 - 175” would be more effective as it gives the student a specific task to address.

Consider a corporate manager who wants to improve his department’s workflow. The to-do item “increase department productivity” is ambiguous. “Schedule meeting with team leaders to discuss new workflow plan” would be more effective since it presents a single objective. It’s easy to know when that objective has been met.

The point is, defining tasks too broadly is detrimental to their completion. Their vagueness ensures they linger. If you’re having trouble completing to-do items, check whether they can be broken down to smaller tasks. Reason #8: Your Tasks Are Not Attached To Specific Goals

Everything you do has a purpose. For example, you change the oil in your car to keep the engine in good shape. You file your income taxes on time to avoid penalties and fines. You make a reservation at your favorite restaurant to avoid having to wait 45 minutes for a table.

Our goals spur us to take action. We’re less inclined to procrastinate when we’re able to predict the positive result of completing a specific task. All other variables being equal, the more certain we are of the outcome, the greater the likelihood we’ll act.

Strangely, many people forget this principle when creating their to-do lists. They write down (or record online) every task that comes to mind. But they fail to associate these tasks with specific goals. Consequently, they end up spending their limited time working on to-do items that matter little to them in the long run.

For example, suppose you maintain a blog and record “write a new blog post” on tomorrow’s to-do list. It’s a task you assume you need to do. But do you know the specific reason you need to do it? Are you trying to achieve a particular goal with the new blog post?

Perhaps you hope the new post will receive exposure on Facebook and Twitter, resulting in an influx of traffic to your website. Maybe you want to give Google another reason to display your blog on its first page of listings for popular search queries. Or perhaps you hope your blog post will gain the attention of influencers in your industry. That can set the stage for making valuable connections and propel you to the position of a thought leader.

The point is that you must attach a specific goal to each task on your to-do list. Know the reason each item needs to be completed. If you neglect this step, you’ll be less motivated to get the item done.

You may relate to this from experience. If so, don’t despair. I promised to show you how to create to-do lists that spur you to take action, help you to work more efficiently, and increase your productivity. I’ll make good on that promise in upcoming sections.

Before we get there, though, let’s do a quick self-appraisal of your to-do list proficiency. Assessing Your To-Do List Mastery: A Self-Appraisal

Before I show you how to create task lists that work, it’s worth evaluating the effectiveness of your current lists. It’s not enough to know that you never complete them. You should have a good idea concerning the reasons.

To that end, the following questionnaire will help you to assess your to-do list proficiency. It will reveal your strengths along with the facets of task management that may need attention.

It’s quick and easy. Simply answer each of the following eight questions, giving yourself a score between one and five. A score of one signifies that you need help and a score of five signifies that you’re proficient. (You’ll note that each of the eight questions below corresponds to the eight reasons we just covered concerning why you’re not getting through your daily list of to-do items.)

Tally your points after you answer the questions and find out how skilled you truly are at creating effective to-do lists!

1. Do you understand the primary role to-do lists serve in a task management system?

2. Do you assign deadlines - a specific date rather than “by the end of the month” - to each to-do item?

3. Do you limit the number of items on your to-do lists to 10? (If so, give yourself three points.) Do you limit the number to seven? (If so, give yourself five points.)

4. Do you create your to-do lists with minimal variability? Focus on the time needed to complete each task as well as each task’s priority. For example, do you have 3-minute tasks listed with tasks that will take 3 hours? Do you have A-priority tasks listed with C-priority tasks?

5. Do your to-do lists limit your options concerning what you should spend your time on?

6. Do you include context for each to-do item so you’ll know whether it’s a high-value or low-value task, and the time commitment involved?

7. Do you define your tasks narrowly and with specificity so you can quickly identify when they’ve been completed?

8. Do you associate each task with a specific goal?

It’s time to tally your points. Remember, give yourself a score of one to five for each question based on how well you handle the issue posed by it. Once you’ve tallied your points, you’ll know your level of proficiency.

If you scored between 32 and 40 points, consider yourself a to-do list ninja. You’re adept, a bona fide master at task management. You regularly get through your daily lists and advance your most important work along the way. It’s still a good idea to read this action guide as a form of recurrent training.

If you scored between 19 and 31, you’re doing reasonably well, but could stand to improve select areas of your task management strategy. You might be feeling overwhelmed by your responsibilities at work and at home. You may also be experiencing persistent stress as your list of tasks grows by the day. Learning how to create effective to-do lists can deliver dramatic results in your productivity and time management efforts.

If you scored 18 or fewer points, you need to rethink your approach to how you create your to-do lists. You’re stressed and feel that each day spirals out of your control. You rarely, if ever, get through your to-do lists, which causes you to feel frustrated, guilty, and even incompetent. Don’t beat yourself up. The good news is that you’re in the right place. By the time you finish reading this action guide, you’ll know how to create task lists that help you to get the important stuff done.

In the next section, we’re going to explore how your emotions can hamper your productivity, even if you’re working with an effective to-do list. How Negative Emotions Impair Your Productivity

It’s important to recognize the impact our emotions have on our productivity. When we’re unhappy, stressed, or fearful, our productivity suffers. We feel disengaged from our work, regardless of its role in achieving our goals. We’re also less creative and have more difficulty making decisions. Moreover, we lose focus and become more easily distracted.

Consequently, we get less done.

All of us go through periods during which we experience negative emotions. It’s human nature. It’s important to realize that such periods are temporary. We eventually regain a positive outlook that allows us to snap out of our funk and get things done.

Unfortunately, many people experience prolonged bouts of negativity. They allow their anxieties, frustrations, and insecurities take hold of their thoughts, which has a predictably dreadful impact on their productivity.

Studies show that chronic stress and fear can literally change how the brain functions. Our ability to process thoughts and make rational decisions suffers as stress hormones, such as cortisol, accumulate. Neuroscientists have discovered that, over time, this state can damage the brain, hampering our decision-making ability.

Consider that in the context of working from properly created to-do lists. Even if your lists are short, include deadlines, provide context, present minimal variability, and tasks are associated with specific goals, your results may be less than stellar. Negative emotions like fear, anger, and guilt can make it nearly impossible to concentrate and get things done.

So if you’re having trouble staying productive during the workday, take stock of your emotional state. Are you struggling with feelings that are siphoning your motivation? Are you dealing with emotions that are having a toxic effect on your willpower? Is persistent negativity eroding your focus and causing you to be more easily distracted?

If so, pinpoint the reasons you’re experiencing these feelings. For example, do you feel guilty and depressed because you’ve missed important deadlines at your job? Do you feel stressed and angry because you’re being overwhelmed by too many conflicting responsibilities at home?

Once you’ve identified whatever is triggering your negativity, you can take steps to change your circumstances and relieve the pressure.

This may seem unrelated to your to-do lists. On the contrary, your emotional state plays a significant role in how successfully you work from your lists. Remember, your to-do list is there to help you organize tasks according to their importance and priority, and identify where to best spend your limited time. You won’t be able to do that effectively if you’re struggling with persistent negativity.

With this topic out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the most popular to-do list strategies used today.