One of the keys to avoid stress at the very beginning of the day is to learn to be planned using taks lists. Our day is full of commitments, meetings, emails, interruptions … utter chaos we must learn to control if we are to be truly productive. The best tool for this is to prepare- and complete- our “To-Day List“.
The concept of To-Day List (combining voices “to do” and “day”) is developed by the time management simulator Triskelion. To-Day List is our compass for the day. It is “to do” list that allows us to regain control as it clarifies our priorities of the day. The key to have an effective To-Day List is that it becomes a list of things that we will do throughout the day no matter what.
To avoid frustration, it is better to write down fewer tasks and to add more on the way than to finish the day without having done all the tasks recorded on the “To-Day List”. All the tasks that we write down on the list will need to have been accomplished by the end of the day. For this reason we recommend getting used to using it by recording two or three tasks maximum, until you manage this tool well.
We’ll do the To-Day List first thing in the morning, when nobody is around to disturb us. This way, we always have a list with the next thing we have to do. You can write the “To-Day List” on a piece of paper, in your notebook, on a digital note… it doesn’t matter where as long as you have access to it at all times to guide us and help us to focus on those priorities. When on top of the tree, we can scan the horizon and decide in which direction to go. Even in the midst of the storm, the To-Day List shows us the way forward to not lose sight of what’s important and we can use it as a reference for the rest of the day.