I like to make to-do lists. They keep me focused, organised and more productive. I prefer using pen and paper for my lists. Call me old school if you like, but I find that my brain functions better this way. I remember things easier and I'm more productive. I also like my to-do lists quite detailed, to make sure I don't forget anything. I'm always on a quest to find the best ways to create the perfect to-do list that will help me achieve my goals and be very productive. Today, I'll share with you some of the ways that I found to work for me.

1. Create a Brain Dump List. 

I found that getting everything off my mind and into paper, ensures that I don't forget to do things and it also empties my brain from constantly thinking about those things. You can create one list where you write everything, or you can make more than one list for various categories i.e. for work, housework, personal, family and so on. In the case that you want to create only one list, you can colour code it to separate the tasks this way. Me personally, I have two Brain Dump Lists: one for work, and one for everything else, which I then colour code, in order to make it easier to visually see the tasks that need to be done in each category I've created.

Every month I check my Brain Dump list and I choose 1-5 tasks to tackle on that month. I break each one into smaller more manageable steps and then, I allocate a few steps of each task for each week of the month. So, when I'm writing my daily to-do list, I check my weekly spread and choose what steps/tasks need to be done on that day.

2. Break the big tasks down into smaller more manageable tasks/steps.

You can do that directly on your Brain Dump list, or you can create a separate smaller list for the specific project or task with all the steps that you need to take.

3. Mark the Important tasks. 

I break the tasks down into

Urgent if they are important or need to be done as soon as possible, or

Not Urgent if they can be tackled at a later date. What I do, is to place a little red dot next to the important tasks, so that I know straight away which ones I should do first.

4. Start with the most important tasks.

Each day I start by noting down the 3 most important tasks on my list. Again, I do that by placing a little red dot next those tasks. These are the tasks that have to be done no matter what. So, if I only do those 3 and nothing else, I can still consider my day quite productive.

Tackle your most important tasks first and don't waste time on trivial tasks.

5. Time everything.

I write an estimated time next to each task. I use this in conjuction with the time management bar to see when I have enough time during my day to allocate for each particular task.

6. Time yourself.

I find that whenever I use a timer when doing a task, I do it quicker and more efficiently. By timing myself for each task, I can also see if my time estimates that I mentioned above are reasonable. And funnily enough, while doing this exercise I found that I have a completely wrong sense of time and my time estimates were completely off! I also like to use the pomodoro technique.

7. Pick a time every day to write your to-do list for the next day.

I prefer to do this before I go to bed. I tend to spend anything between 10-20 minutes to plan my to-do list for the next day. I go through my future log, my brain dump list and my weekly spread to see what tasks I have to do for the next day.

The above steps / techniques have helped me immensely to plan ahead and to be more productive. Please share in the comments below any tips or tricks you use in order to create your perfect to-do list.