I don't really pay all that much attention to my online to do lists anyway, so I guess I'll revert back to my good old steno pad. I cannot survive without a steno pad, be it at work or at home.
While thinking about this post, I did a cursory scan of the kitchen and den and found these:
What floored me was that in all but one (and it was a fully used one from last year) there was a mechanical pencil tucked in the spiral...at the ready! I'm such a creature of habit.
My most successful method of listing goes something like this (last year's July list can actually be seen on the top pad in the picture above):
July's monthly goal:
paint the headboard extensions
7/12/09 <---Major Weekly Goals ---> 07/18/09
a. choose and buy paint
b. make girls' pajamas
c. work out 5 days (_x_,_x_,__,__,__)
To-Do's:
change bed
vacuum
wash back door window
order Jared's b'day present
etc.
This system has really worked well for me...when I remember to do it.
The idea of listing a big job to finish by the end of the month helps me keep it on my mind along with a realistic deadline.
The major weekly goals usually involves something creative I need to complete, and if I'm trying to form a good habit, I track it here. I keep these weekly goals limitied to three...I can't realistically focus on more.
Under 'To-Do's' at the bottom, I just list the ordinary things that need to get done as they pop into my head. It gives me incredible satisfaction when I can scratch things off the list. And keeping it weekly helps me see how much I really do get done, even when it feels like I didn't get anything accomplished.
I keep other notes on other pages, like measurements I need to take to the store with me, or addresses/phone numbers, etc. Once I'm done with those items, I discard the pages, leaving the goal/list pages as a record. For instance, I see that last July I wanted to mail a package to a friend...I have yet to mail it to her (grrrrrrrrrrrrrr).
I'm not sure where I came up with this system. It's entirely possible that I read it somewhere, but if so, I can't remember where. It works great though, so wherever it came from I'm sending thanks out for it.
So, does anyone have other methods that work well for them?
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