5 Steps To Create More Useful To Do Lists In Your Planner + GIVEAWAY! | At Home With Quita

[Music] hey guys welcome back to my channel and thanks for joining me for another video this is myketa from at home with kita and here i share tips on how to plan a balanced life so if you're new here i hope you'll consider subscribing so in today's video i'm going to be sharing with you how to make more useful to-do lists if you're anything like me you love list making i know i am very guilty of making multiple lists it just helps me to stay organized and on task so i'm going to be sharing with you my five step process so let's get into it so you have many many tasks that you could tackle each day but if you take the time to really prioritize you'll be able to take on your most important tasks and enjoy a sense of accomplishment and productivity so i am going to grab some inserts from the back of my planner here that are going to help me most in making this to-do list i make a to-do list every single week for the upcoming week anything that doesn't get accomplished or completed gets transferred or moved to the next week so there's a couple of places that i look to jog my memory in terms of being able to make an effective to-do list one is i'm gonna look on the previous planner week just to see if there's any tasks that i wasn't able to complete that i need to transfer to this week so i look on my planner spread and i just scan it just to see what i didn't check off any of those items are some of the things that are going to go into my to-do list another place that i look is in my meal planning section i come here i look at my meals for the week and i see if there's any prep work or anything that i need to do associated with those meals another section i look in is routines i look at all of my routines for the week i have several i have a morning afternoon evening routine now we'll be having to implement an after school routine i also have a cleaning routine a work routine faith and self-care and that's all done throughout different times of the day based on my routine so within the morning afternoon evening routine you'll see the afternoon routine you'll see the cleaning routine you'll see different routines scheduled throughout these main routines i do have a video on my channel explaining my whole process for this so make sure to check that out all i'm doing is sharing with you some sections within my planner that i look to kind of jog my memory to make sure that i'm not missing anything in addition to just memory and knowing some things that i need to make sure that i'm getting done i also look at my budget section are there any bills coming up that i want to make sure that i don't forget about i am going to write that all on my to-do list fitness is another thing i'll come here mainly it's going to be things that are scheduled out when it comes to faith but if there's anything that i need to prep for it a fitness wise or anything like that i again put it on my to-do list same thing for faith school and self-care those are all sections that i'm going to dig into to make sure that i am writing out every single thing that i need to do for my to-do list and so that is a part of the first step in the process you want to make sure that you write out those things that you need to do first so when considering all of these different sections like i mentioned make sure to write in things that you know you need to get done first or they're more urgent than other things and so that is anything that is of high priority that is beyond the basics and also don't overwrite on this list anything that you always do every day does not belong on a to-do list it belongs on your weekly planner pages you want to make sure that you schedule those things out so i like to write in some subjects here at the top because i want to make sure that i'm tracking things properly so i'm going to write to-do lists and i want to take a note of a deadline that may be associated with it and whether it was completed [Music] another thing that you'll want to think about is what your goals are for the week and that's going to help you to achieve your long-term goals so think about what you could do this week that will get you one step closer to achieving those goals and put them on the list so that way it'll help you to achieve them so we're doing two things here we're scanning our planner to see all of the things that we need to get done and tasks and to-do list items associated with those things and then we are going to write our goals in to make sure that we are on track with those as well so something to keep in mind when you're making this to-do list is to keep it short now i find that this is the most difficult step in this process but you know some experts say that our daily to-do list should have no more than three tasks on them now i'm not so sure about that because i have a ton of things that most certainly are way more than three tasks apparently as humans we can only look at about seven to eight items on a list without getting so overwhelmed that we want to call it quits and spend the day watching netflix now for me i have way more than three to five items so we are going to take note of that thank you so much to the expert that developed that theory but i have too many things and i do want to write it all out here so we by no means can only write a to-do list of three to five items that is not realistic for me but do what works for you experiment with a smaller to-do list that includes no more than seven tasks on it ideally even less if you go according to that theory and see if your productivity improves and also try to break tasks down and write them as a specific action item now this is a great technique certain tasks on your to-do list are either too vague or too big for you to act on effectively but breaking that task down and writing it as an action makes it much easier for you to push through your inner resistance you know when you think i don't want to do that it's too hard i'm too tired i worked hard yesterday and all of those things you say to yourself so write them in the form of an action step and see how much more inclined you are to take immediate action on that task so break the test down into individual steps and write the first step that needs to be completed on your to-do list it's much more likely that you'll actually get this done and also add generous time estimates by adding generous time estimates to the task on your to-do list planning your day becomes that much more easier and i put emphasis on the generous part of that when you are rushed for time and you're staring a looming deadline in your face the stress and frustration mounts one purpose of the to-do list is to lessen your stress and frustration so add 15 or 20 minutes to your time estimates no matter what then you have some breathing room and maybe even a little extra time at the end of the day that can be used to work towards goals or get ahead for tomorrow plus y'all tasks always take longer to complete than you expected i also come over to my brain dump section i did do a video on a full brain dump and how to execute that successfully so through this process what you're doing is sitting down having a session and thinking about all the things that you need to get out of your head and onto paper via a brain dump so once you do that this is the next step in the process your to-do list so you're going to create your to-do list based on all of those things also on this brain dump insert set you have a now soon later and if time so typically my to-do list is going to come from the now and the soon i'm going to schedule some things out on my planner and then whatever remains goes on my to-do list so now that i have everything written out and gathered from all of those different places in my planner this is my full to-do list for the week every single thing that i want to make sure that i get done is here and i'm going to make a valiant effort to get these things done during that week so in terms of the deadline you are going to go ahead and write in when that item needs to be done by the absolute last deadline day that it needs to be done by again i'm going to try to get it done during the week but i still want to have a deadline here so that way i can make sure that i know the last possible date that it can be completed otherwise whatever the consequences are going to happen i'm not sure what that would be for you but for some things especially if they're work tasks it could be you know getting in trouble with your boss so you want to make sure to write in that deadline so that way you know when that needs to be completed by and then the last section here if you're going to pop this in your planner would just be to write in the date of completion or just put a check mark there and so that is the next step in this process and that is to prioritize now there are hundreds of different strategies for prioritizing tasks so experiment with those that appeal to you until you find the one that is going to work the best and one tip to remember is to be realistic now this is probably the biggest lesson that has helped me and my productivity immensely and as it turns out the evening me and the morning me don't have a lot in common so while the evening me is ready to tackle big projects in a single day the morning me is pretty realistic in saying that it just can't be done so for me i have to be realistic in terms of when i am most productive and that is when i schedule those things so you want to be mindful of the time in which you want to complete the tasks and also the date that you want to schedule those tasks to be completed so just remember to be realistic and do what works for you and what's going to make you the most productive for that day and so when it comes to prioritization make sure to list your chosen items whether it's going to be three to five three to seven or a full to-do list like i'm writing in do those items in order of importance and urgency put the most important ones at the top or the most urgent ones and these are tasks that have the biggest consequences if you don't achieve them list the rest of your tasks and decreasing a priority order prioritizing is the number one way to ensure that you have a successful week and unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day so know how you want to use your time and how to prioritize it to achieve your goals alright so i've assigned a deadline to everything that has a deadline and again i tried to keep it within this month so i'm really going to make a real effort to get all of this stuff done and i'm going to feel such a sense of accomplishment when i do so there are other things on this to-do list that i didn't assign a date to because i'm not sure when i want to complete them during the month and that happens sometimes you just don't know and so some of these items that have a date on them are going to go on my weekly schedule i'm going to go ahead and assign them to a day and some things i'm not because this is the actual deadline for it so it doesn't necessarily mean it has to be done on this day just needs to be done before this day so i want to make sure that i schedule those on my planner as well and so everything has a deadline and then once i complete it i'm going to come here and add the date here or just check it off as completed so you have your list pretty much completed so the next step is pretty self-explanatory and that is to take action an action doesn't just mean actually doing the items it also means actively using the list so cross things off as you finish them re-prioritize if needed and add items as the week goes on if you're like me my list tends to get messier and messier as the week goes on and that is perfectly okay so staying involved with your list ensures that you stay on top of your goals it also helps to ensure you don't end up forgetting important things and you guys make sure you keep the list somewhere you'll actually see it on a daily basis and this is the same if your list is on your phone if you don't regularly go into the notes app then make it a screen saver which is a great idea if you prefer to write the list on pen and paper like we're doing today then use a magnet and put it on your fridge or you can put it on your nightstand or you can do just like me and pop it in your planner for the week you just have to make sure you're opening your planner on a daily basis to check in with your to-do list that is important and that is the only way you're going to be able to take action on these things that you wrote in on your to-do list the next thing is to make sure you are focused okay for decades multitasking has been glorified and our attention spans have suffered because of it now i have mentioned this in a previous video about multitasking and why you should not multitask and how it definitely affects your productivity so throw multitasking out the window right now start developing your focus and attention use a timer and work on one task with no interruptions for five minutes then 10 minutes then 20 then 25 you're constantly improving yes that means you need to close your email windows and turn off your phone and social media notifications so find the ideal length of time for your attention span work with it and build it and in no time you'll be knocking out those tasks more quickly and have more time for bigger goals more fun and more family time the last important step for writing weekly to-do lists is make sure that you learn from your to-do list the week before this is so you can constantly improve your time management and productivity so the last thing is to improve each week make sure you're getting better if something isn't working stop doing it and start implementing something that may work test it out until you get it right a lot of this is pretty simple but can seriously help you make the most of your days so if you put way too much on your list one week then you know for the next week to be more realistic if you completed everything halfway through the week then you know that you need to add more it can take a little time while trying to figure this out but you have to find out what works for you and it is totally worth it to get organized and take control of your time and so this is how a typical to-do list would look for me for the week i have my to-do list items here i have my deadline in which they need to be completed the ones that don't have a deadline here are just going to be sprinkled throughout my task list which goes here in my planner so i'm going to write things in on the daily schedule based on when they need to be done of course there are so many different methods for time management to-do lists and all of that i did talk about brain dumping that is a part of the process as well that you could implement along with this strategy that i'm sharing with you today you could only do a brain dump and kind of do as i mentioned in the video yesterday transfer that stuff from the brain dump directly onto here schedule it and add it to your tasks or you can brain dump it all out then start your to-do list process because some of those things may stay on the brain dump list until you're actually able to schedule them out keep that in your planner and then use that as a foundation to be able to create a to-do list for that specific week there's so many different ways to do it i'm just sharing with you kind of some things that worked for me and that i am constantly implementing so that way i can see what's going to work long term and as my needs change i change with that so that way i can make sure that i'm always the most effective for what's going on in my life and how i plan so that i can be the most productive that i can be and so this would stay inside my planner for the week and i would just start writing in the completed date as i complete them if i want to go that route or i would write them in here and as i'm completing them here i would check it off so this is my weekly schedule and then these are where the to-do list items will come into play i would write them here on the tasks and again we're trying to get all of this done and that's why it's important to assign a deadline so that way if you see that it has some urgency to it it's more likely that you'll complete it within that time frame so this is how i create my to-do list you guys it helps me to stay so much more organized by having a to-do list every single week and as things need to be added to it of course i'll add it here or in my brain dump section but typically if it pertains to this week i'm going to add it here the brain dump is literally just a session where you sit and get everything out of your head so just to go over those steps again you're going to start creating your master to-do list including the things that you need to get done first and your goals the second step is to prioritize make sure that you keep it short and you're specific and you add time estimates if you'd like the next thing is to prioritize that make sure that you're setting a deadline so that you can get that completed within that time frame and you want to prioritize from stuff that you want to get done during that week but aren't necessarily as urgent as the other things then you want to take action after that we've got to focus make sure that we are not multitasking all of the time stay focused on that task and get that done before you move on to the next task and then you want to make sure that you are constantly improving every single week if something about this list isn't working take note of that and make sure that you change that for the next week to make sure that you are more effective so that is it guys that is how i create my to-do list hopefully this has helped you in some way and you have figured out a new strategy to become more productive and get more done so i have some exciting news we are doing a giveaway as a part of this video as well so make sure to check below to get all of the details on how you can enter to win some planner goodies so let me share with you what those items are these are all items from tombow i absolutely love tombow i am a part of their ambassador team so from time to time they do send me things and so i've got lots of goodies here that i'm going to be giving away so the first thing is this creative notebook kit it's got everything in here that you need to make your notes pop we all want our notes to pop right so that's everything that's included in this note-taking kit we also have some love notes i thought these were super cute and so it comes with a ton of variety of love notes next up we have a watercolor set so this is going to help you be able to do some water coloring in your planner we've got a notebook here from tombow it is line grid and then we've got some die cuts from bloom daily planners these are so cute so this is everything that's included it's a positivity sticker pack they are die cut stickers then more stickers don't we all love stickers 475 stickers sticks sticker sheets from bloom daily planners and then a full-on planner for you could use this for your regular general planning or you could use this for school planner we do have back to school coming up soon and so this is partly at the end of 2021 and some of 2022 so this is a super pretty planner with some gold foil so this is a part of the giveaway as well so i'm going to split them up for two giveaway winners i'll make sure there's an even number to go around and you can enter to win by clicking on the link below and following the prompts in order to make sure that you can get your name entered into the drawing to potentially win these goodies i also wanted to share with you guys this beautiful notice cover that i know you've been eyeballing throughout this whole video i haven't come on here yet to share that with you guys i did go on my social media instagram to share with you guys this new cover that i had purchased with my own money from noteq although she does gift things from time to time i do want to support her shop as well you know things cost money and so it's a beautiful quilted cover and half letter and it is more of a stiffer leather and so i have been loving using this it really helps from writing to have a little bit of a stiffer leather to be able to kind of prop your pages up again so i like going back and forth between the stiffer and the not so stiffer so it has the same sort of layout pockets on the side and then when you get to the back it's got a pin loop just like all the other notifique planners i found that it was a little bit more narrow so i removed my highlighter at from the side it was on the side and i put it on the bottom and that works out perfectly what was happening was is that my pin was smashing up against it because it was sitting here and it was making it to where i couldn't close the planner so now i have it at the bottom you guys have a problem with pins i love pins so this is my mildliner and then i have my sharpie s gel and then at the top i have my paper mate flare and they are all essentials for me and my planner so i like to keep them all there so now it closes perfectly and it is just stunning so i definitely wanted to come on here because i know you've been seeing it throughout this video and you probably had some questions it's got the rose gold hardware and so this is what i'll be using for i don't know until i change my mind and i want to grab something else so i thought i would share that with you as well so thank you guys so much for joining me on this video i hope you found a way that you can make your to-do list a little bit better hopefully this has helped you in some way and so you'll give me a thumbs up on this video you'll consider subscribing to my channel if you're new here and you'll come back by and catch another video in which case i'll see you guys then you

Channel: AtHomeWithQuita

Views: 5,011

Rating: 4.9036145 out of 5

Keywords: planners and organizers, what to write in your planner, how to actually use your planner, how to plan in your planner, how to use a planner, the happy planner, best ways to use planner, the happy planner for beginners, how to get things done with a planner, planner routine, planner newbie, how to make your planner functional, being productive with a planner, functional plan with me, starting a planner, happy planner beginner, beginner planner setup, functional happy planner

Id: tIbiyOiF5EA

Length: 21min 52sec (1312 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 03 2021