A perusal through time management books, efficiency books, etc. will show you the importance of to-do lists. To-do lists definitely have their place – it’s one of the ways that we make sure that we don’t forget to do important (and not-so-important) things. However, look at how long you are taking to work on your to-do list for the coming week or day – could you spend 30-50% more time, and actually DO the task?
Let me give you an example: I remember that I need to set up a doctor’s appointment for Monday. You can either write down “Call Dr for appt” or you can pick up the phone and actually make the appt. [Of course, this presumes that you are writing this during business hours.] It may take you 10 seconds to jot it down, or 2 mins to complete the call; however, there’s one less thing for you to do.
Try keeping your to-do lists for things that take 5 minutes or more – and take care of the smaller things as you think of them. We’ve implemented this methodology in our staff meetings, and so end up with a shorter list of actionable, but longer implementation time, items rather than a long laundry list of things that will take 2-3 mins to do each. It’s improved our internal system considerably; give it a try and let us know how they work for you!