To Do or Not To Do-That's Today's Blog Question

Personal organization is the foundation of efficiency.

Whether you're seeking to achieve efficiency personally or within an organization, it is necessary to have a strong personal organization system.

A to do list is a good start to getting organized. To do lists can be made in different formats. I like to use a weekly to do list. If I have a lot of things to do in one day, or specific tasks to accomplish on a particular day, I will make a daily to do list out of my larger weekly to do list. A weekly lists helps me see all of the things that need to be done, and I organize them into an efficient plan on Sunday night or the beginning of the week. I also like to schedule certain tasks into my planner for certain times of the day, to make sure the task gets done. For example, if I want to exercise at a particular time, instead of just writing exercise on my list, I schedule it into a specific time spot, such as from 6-7 a.m.

To do lists are helpful because writing tasks down ensures that you won't forget them. Also, if you check off your tasks as you do them, it helps you to feel a sense of accomplishment and to visually see what you have done in the day. Even better, if you have your to do list in your actual planner, you will be able to keep a record of what you have accomplished. So, if you question later whether you did a particular task, you will have a record of it right in your planner. It is also helpful to write things into the list because you can organize the order in which you do the tasks to be as efficient as possible. I like to put my list into categories. For example, you can do all household cleaning chores at one time; all paperwork at one time; all phone calls at one time; all emails at one time, etc.

As additional tasks come up during the week, I evaluate the time frame in which they need to be accomplished. Tasks that need to be done this week are added to this week's list in their appropriate category. Future tasks are put into my planner.  I use an Uncalendar for my planner. I will feature how I use the planner in a later post.

The question is: when is it better to put the task on a to do list and when is it better to just do the task?

My general rule is that if it will take longer to write the task down than to actually do the task it is better to do the task as you think of it. Tasks that will take more time should be written down. There are exceptions. For example, if you are at home and think of a short work related task, that cannot be accomplished at home, then you will have to write the task down. I have developed my own short hand to use in my planner, so that I can write tasks down quickly. This helps eliminate the time it takes to make a list and allows me to put tasks quickly into my planner to organize them into a meaningful system for task completion.