Too Many Lists...Must Plan My Time!
- Lais Salvina
- Feb 10, 2023
- 4 min read
Organizing the never ending items on my "To-Do" List
I don’t function believing there are 24 hours in a day. As I mentioned before I protect my 7-8 hours of sleep each night, so technically, I am left with about 16 hours to be as productive and efficient as possible.
I have about 7 full-time jobs that I manage on my own.
The job that pays me
Mom to a 9yr old
Guardian to a 17yr old
Servant to 2 fur monsters
Keeping up with athletic schedules
Housekeeper
Personal Self-Care/Mental-Health
As I figured out how to manage everything within those 16 hours, I realized that time management isn’t about keeping yourself constantly busy with a rigid schedule and long working hours. Efficient time management is about making a realistic and adaptable schedule to achieve what matters most.
“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important things” - Brian Tracy
As I get older and life gets busier, my brain is constantly multitasking. It takes in multiple pieces of information and forgets them simultaneously. Let's begin with how I store everything my brain will forget.
NEVERENDING LISTS
The “Dump List”
Just like the name, create a list where you dump everything in it. There is no order of priority in this list. Everything that pops up in my mind, from things I want to learn, things I need to research, kid needs, booking trips, activities, house projects, etc I will dump it all here. Since everything in my brain constantly sound like it's urgent or a priority. This list allows me to later filter out what really is important and to not forget all my random thoughts.
There are items I don’t add to my “Dump List” because it makes more sense for me to add them to their appropriate subsection.
Books
Groceries
Target [I live here so I figure having its own list is needed]
Current Week List [Explanation below)
5-Minute List [This will be explained in next week's Work-Life balance Blog]
I personally enjoy Apple’s “Reminders” App to create my lists, as it is simple and effective.
I review the items from my "Dump List” constantly and will eventually filter them into my monthly/weekly/daily planner or remove them completely if the item becomes irrelevant.
PLANNING
Everyone operates differently, I am a visual planner. To reduce anxiety and increase productivity, I need to be able to view precisely everything that is happening in my life at all times.
On a high level, I want to see what activities are happening from a monthly point of view, to grasp items such as trips, kids' activities, and important dates that are coming up. I use the monthly section in my Simplified Planner and try to plan 3 months at a time.
My weekly point of view is stretched into two structures.
First, I have a weekly whiteboard planner on the wall in my home office that lists the items that will never change and must be done on that day every day. I am basically spreading out my chores so that I am not overwhelmed doing them all at once.
The second, in my reminder app I have a list called “Current Week List” which is where I will list any items I need to get done within that week. I usually pull items from my “Dump List” or any items that pertain to that particular week which I will then distribute into my daily planner.
My daily point of view is located in my Simplified Daily planner. I always plan out my days the night prior, including any priority “to-do” items, the structure of how my day will look, and any motivational quotes or random notes I need to remind myself to stay focused.
I operate from what lands on my daily planner.
These lists combined are all different views that help me stay focused and keep my stress/anxiety levels down with a productive way to plan my time.
Time management can look different for everyone. With all of this in place (yes, I know it seems like a lot) I can actually measure how much I can get done and how much time I have that month/week/day to accomplish it.
PRIORITIES WILL CHANGE EVEN AFTER YOU PLANNED THEM!
Roadblocks... HATE IT!
Unexpected random crap that pops up ... HATE IT!
Things that take much longer to accomplish than what you planned for... HATE IT!
If we allow unexpected events to bring us down we will be suffering for life.
BREATHE... be angry for a moment (rant to yourself or a good friend)
BREATHE AGAIN... plug in any overflow or missed items into another day, and it may not always necessarily need to be the day after. Re-evaluate missed items and their priority and just add them back into your "Dump List" or squeeze them in where it seems right.
......... Then BREATHE one more time.
REMINDER: There is nothing wrong with protecting your time.
Books that helped build healthy productive habits:
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
To-Do List Formula by Damon Zahariades
Atomic Habits by James Clear
If you prefer everything digital for organization:
Other recommended paper tools:
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