Best Effective To-Do List Techniques To Organize Your Work

To-do list is a very important list when it comes to your success in business. Sometimes, you may feel overwhelmed and stuck at your business. You may also have difficulty managing your time. It is very likely that you are unable to arrange your time to fulfill the workload and urgent tasks imposed on you at your workplace. You have the opportunity to transform this feeling of being stuck into a feeling of control through to-do lists.

Using daily productivity checklist in your work gives you the freedom to shape your time and work the way you want. It also allows you to get rid of depression and postponement in this way. Creating to-do lists is one way to organize the challenges and tasks you’re stuck with at work. These to-do lists, which we used to prepare using pen and paper, have now been transferred to mobile applications and computers with the development of technology.

How To Plan And Organize Your Work

Planning and organizing are very important in order to complete a work succesfully. Planning and organizing a work means determining the resources needed to achieve your specific purpose, planning who will do what task and when. Successful planning and organizing allows you to coordinate multiple employees in the most effective way and to understand what everyone wants from you. So how do you organize and plan your work?

Create a to-do list with the tasks required for your work. This could be a weekly list containing the task for the week, or a daily list. Thanks to daily to-do list, you can easily see how many tasks per day. Prepare a to-do list, either digitally or using pen and paper, and prioritize these tasks from most important to least important. Once you get used to it, your planning and organizing process will get faster. Even create a done list in addition to the to do list and highlight the tasks you have completed.

Next step is trying to remove all distractions from your planning. This distraction may be social media or excessive coffee breaks. Another step is to identify the resources you will need at each stage of your plan. Consider how you will use these resources within your budget. If you follow these steps, you can plan and organize your work successfully.

Why Make a To Do List?

There are times when you feel stuck and overwhelmed between the works you have to complete. When you miss deadlines and can’t get works done… or when you forget to complete some important works. When you’re struggling with these, all you have to do is write down a list.

To do lists are essential if you are facing an overload of work. By using these lists effectively, you can successfully handle the workload. By making productive to do lists, you can make sure you don’t forget your important work and your tasks are written in one place.

Benefits of To Do List

Generally, you make a list and you don’t look at it. Therefore, you should include these lists in your daily schedule. Daily to-do lists are very important in this way. It helps you plan your day and motivates you to get things done. Another very important benefit is to provide effective time management. When you complete a task, you can delete it from your list. This way, you won’t waste time searching for which task you’ve completed or not. Other benefits are:

1. To-do lists allow you to create an order.
2. To-do lists make you responsible. In this way, you start your day knowing you have work to do that day.
3. You get better time management. By creating a to-do list, you can better plan and manage your time.
4. There are so many to-do list examples. You can personalize your to-do lists by finding an example of a list that suits you.
5. If you have a lot of work and you can’t handle it, you can define this workload more clearly by creating a to-do list. If your list is too long and complex, you can feel relieved by delegating one of your tasks to someone else.

Best Effective To-Do List Techniques to Organize Your Work

There are many to do list examples and tips. The important thing here is to choose the most suitable one for you. We will give you a few effective to-do list techniques to organize your work:

• The 3-Step To-Do List

You may have tasks with complex and challenging steps. For a 3-step to-do list where you can break them down into small tasks,

1. Firstly, think about your main goal for the day,
2. Write at the top of the page,
3. And break it down into steps that can turn your goal into action. With this technique, you can ease large and difficult tasks.

•  Not-to-do list

One of the effective to-do list techniques is the not-to-do list. This list includes tasks that you will not do. You can delete or delegate the tasks here. A well-planned not-to-do list will help you focus better and be interested only in the tasks that are necessary. The not-to-do list can also include tasks you are not good at and avoid doing.

• 1-3-5 List

Define 1 Main Task, 3 Medium Tasks, and 5 Small Tasks to be productive in your work every day. Identify all tasks for the week and separate them into main tasks, medium tasks, and small tasks. You can then place all the tasks on the daily 1-3-5 to-do list. Plan it every day if you want, or create it for the whole week ahead.

• Your ”Done” List

Write down all the tasks you have completed in a given time for creating a done list. Compared to the to-do list, the done list contains only your completed tasks. Main purpose of this list is to remind you how much you have accomplished in a given time and to motivate you about how productive you can actually be.

• Task Management Apps

To-do lists that you used to prepare with paper and pencil are now prepared by many people through task management apps. Thanks to these apps, digital to-do lists become accessible anytime and anywhere. Task management tools like PeerBie allow you to manage all your activities and lists from one place. Tools like these allow you to take full control of your tasks and to-do lists.

Decide What To Put on Your To-Do List

What things are usually on your to-do list? The answer to this question may differ from person to person. So what should really be put on the to-do list? At this point, many people can be confused. To reduce this confusion, you can add statements to each task on your to-do list that will explain the value and consequences of completing that task. If you can clearly articulate why a task needs to be completed, you will be more motivated to complete it.

Identifying the importance of the tasks on your to-do list also helps you find tasks that you don’t need to do. If you feel that completing a task will not benefit you, remove it from the to-do list. Deleting no-value or unnecessary tasks from your list will help you make better to-do lists. In this way, you will have a clearer understanding of what should or should not be on your list. Another important point is that you should include tasks on your list, not objectives or goals. At this point, it is important to understand the difference between the three.

Categorize Your To-Do List

Another important point to be able to successfully complete each task is to categorize your to-do list. This way, instead of tucking in all the tasks into one massive list, you can create too many to-do lists of different categories.

How To Categorize To Do List

How you categorize a to-do list can vary. We’ve compiled a few categorization techniques for you:

• You can categorize by the project. If you have more than one project, you can divide your tasks into project categories so that you can easily track which projects they belong to.
• Another option is to categorize them by task types. You can organize your lists as chores or homework.
• You can also categorize your tasks in order of priority. While organizing your tasks in order of importance, you can categorize them as urgent or not urgent.
• You can define whether your to-do list will be weekly, monthly, or daily and categorize accordingly. This is one of the easiest ways!

Prioritize your tasks based on realistic considerations.

You have a lot of work and tasks to do. You need to be realistic when setting your goals and prioritizing your tasks according to their importance. Otherwise, you may fall behind on your plan and create false expectations.

The purpose of prioritization is to create time to work on important tasks and to move you forward. When you prioritize better with a realistic considetations, you feel more focused and purposeful.

How To Prioritize Tasks

Whether you have tasks for today or next month, it’s important to prioritize these tasks from the most urgent to the non-urgent. In this way, you can plan your tasks more accurately. It’s pretty easy to forget about tasks until they become a priority. To avoid this, prioritize your tasks. So how to prioritize tasks?

• Combine all the tasks you need to complete on the day. In this way, you can easily determine how will you allocate your time.
• Next step is to determine if there is a task that needs to complete urgently. If there is a task that will cause problems for you if you do not complete it during the day, it will be to your advantage to bring this task forward. Prioritize your most urgent tasks early in the day. Postponing it to a later date will be bad to you.
• Take a look at your tasks and evaluate how valuable they are to your work. This way you can understand which tasks are critical and have a higher value than others.
• Check the tasks’ time estimates and start with the task that takes the longest to complete and which task do you think requires the most effort. According to experts, it would be in your best interest to start with a longer task. If you can’t start the longer task without completing the shorter task, focus on deleting a small task from your list. You are free to do as you feel comfortable!

Use the Priority Matrix Template to Manage Your Tasks. 

A priority matrix is a decision-making tool that helps you prioritize tasks and make sure that the most important task is not pushed aside by sudden and unexpected situations. The priority matrix helps you maximize the efficiency of your project plan by categorizing tasks based on their potential consequences and impact. 

As a priority matrix, we can give an example of the action priority matrix. To build this matrix, you score tasks first based on the impact of the tasks and secondly on the effort required to complete them. You then use these points to mark in four quadrants:

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• Quick Wins (High Impact, Low Effort): Quick Wins consist of the most attractive tasks. This is because these tasks are tasks that give you a good return with little effort. Focus on these tasks as much as possible.
• Major Projects (High Impact, High Effort): Major projects give good returns but take your time.
• Fill Ins (Low Impact, Low Effort): You don’t have to worry too much about doing these tasks. Complete these tasks if you have free time, but do not hesitate to delegate them if something better comes along.
• Thankless Tasks (Low Impact, High Effort): Try to avoid these tasks. They provide very little return and consume too much time.

To use Action Priority Matrix, you must follow these steps:

1. List the tasks you need to complete.
2. Rate these tasks according to their impact and the effort involved. (For example, give 0 points if it has no effect, 10 points if it has a maximum effect, the same applies to the effort part.)
3. Plot tasks on the Action Priority Matrix based on your scores.
4. Prioritize your tasks as appropriate with the matrix. Either delete or delegate low-impact tasks to someone else.

Break Large Tasks Into Smaller Tasks

When faced with a large and complex task, you must break it down into smaller and manageable parts. This will keep stress away and help you avoid procrastination. When faced with a big task, you are often afraid and delay doing it. To avoid this, break big tasks into smaller ones once you’ve determined 

One method of doing this is a rolling to-do list. These lists give you more flexibility. You need to break up large tasks into small items and distribute these action items appropriately over a period of time. So how do you make a rolling to-do list?

• Gather all the tasks that you will put on your to-do list in one place, this list is your master list.
• Next, break up large and complex tasks into smaller and actionable items. The point here is not to divide each task into many steps, it just creates confusion. Your aim is to find and break down the key steps in the tasks you’ve decided to do.
• Then, you should prioritize these actionable items. Begin tackling items in this order of priority.
• Finally, reevaluate and reorder these items.

Assign Due To Dates

Instead of assigning general time estimates such as today or tomorrow to your tasks, set more specific due dates. Due dates prevent you from delaying work and allow you to act in a planned way. If any task has a due date, be sure to include it. Seeing when your tasks should be completed helps you prioritize. You can quickly notice your upcoming tasks and plan your day accordingly. 

Another benefit is that when you realize that the week is overcrowded, you can take some time to reschedule tasks. The most important benefit of assigning deadlines to your tasks is that it provides you with time management. Due dates give you a sense of responsibility. You may be lazy to start a task, that’s okay. However, knowing when that task should complete will motivate you.

Personalize Your Method

We mentioned that there are a lot of to-do list techniques. Choosing the most suitable one for you and personalizing it will push you to prepare a list and plan accordingly. Choosing what works best for you and personalizing this to-do list will increase your productivity directly.

There are many ways to compile your to-do list. If you want, you can buy a special notebook for it, you can only use calendars or you can get help directly from a task management app. Do not forget that, your to-do list is one of your most personal productivity tools. So you can shape it according to your actual working order.

Maybe Someday List

If you want to experience and do many things but can’t find time for yourself, this list is for you. Maybe someday list is a list of things you definitely want to do but can’t do. You can create time for yourself for the experiences on this list.

To-do List vs Done List

A done list is actually the opposite of a to-do list. While you add the tasks, which you need to do, to your to-do list, you write everything you have done to the done list. You can personalize this list however you want. If you want, you can write what you have completed on a daily basis, or on a weekly basis. Up to you!

Use To-Do List Tool

Today, digital to-do lists are highly preferred. To-do lists that you prepare using a notebook and pen can be forgotten at home or lost. The lists you will prepare with the To-do list tools come with you everywhere in your pocket and are always accessible. Known as a team task management application, PeerBie lets you create digital to-do lists. You can achieve highly effective results by using PeerBie, which strengthens your relationship with your team and employees.

With PeerBie, you can create to-do lists for your projects and add tasks to them. You can assign these tasks to yourself or anyone else. PeerBie stands out for offering the ability to personalize these tasks. You can add a location, image, description or a file to your tasks. Also, you can add subtasks and deadlines to your tasks. Anything you’re looking for in a to-do list, you can find it on PeerBie. Moreover, you can quickly access the performance reports prepared according to the tasks completed by your employees or team members. This includes your own report!

It’s easy to edit and recreate to-do lists you make with PeerBie, and it has reminders. If you have a task during the day, you may encounter notifications on your phone or computer from PeerBie. As you start the day, your PeerBie homepage contains the tasks you need to complete for that day. This way, you don’t have to get lost in lists to find out what to do during the day. At the end of the day, you can select the tasks you have completed and let everyone see which tasks have been completed on the dashboard. You can easily prioritize your tasks by choosing one of the “High, Med and Low” options. For these and more features, take a look at PeerBie. 

Best To Do List Examples

Here is a roadmap for you to create one of the best to-do list examples through PeerBie:

• Add yourself a project or section from the Projects part. For example, ABC project or Housework.
• Then start personalizing your task by clicking the big plus sign at the bottom right of the screen. From this area, you can name your task and add the file, image, location and deadlines.
• You are free to create as many projects or categories as you want and add as many tasks as you want.
• Tasks, which you add to to-do list, are automatically added to your calendar.
• If you choose the tasks you have completed at the end of the day, you can access all of them in the completed section.
• It is very easy to keep track of how many tasks you have completed from the completed section or completed bar.