3 Reasons Why Your To-Do List Is Not Effective

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

- John Wooden

I started working for an education company in 2008 and as a new manager I was ready to learn everything that was given to me. The first physical thing I was given was a composition book. One of my colleagues at the time gave it to me and told me that the notebook will help me manage my time. I used that composition book to write down all the tasks and projects I had to complete. That to-do list was a life saver.

As time progressed and I received additional responsibilities, my to-do list got longer and longer. What worked for me my first year was not working for me the following year. When I became a Senior Program Manager, my to-do list was in trouble. It seemed as though every year I had to adapt a new way of doing things because the old was wasn't working. After reading a few books and articles I adjusted the way I managed my time which later helped me balance life and work. However, my notebook with my to-do list became extinct.

Although to-do list are great for chores and a few other simple tasks in our lives, they are not the most effective way to manage our projects, time or even to-do things. Here are three reasons why a to-do list is not effective.

There is no time associated with your list

Your to-do list might consist of 10 different things you have to get done. However, how long will it take you to finish all 10 things? Those 10 things can take you an hour to complete or 3 days depending on what they are. Each line item on your list has a time associated with its completion. This is why to-do lists aren't effective when managing our time - because there is no time on a list, it's just a list of words. Practice timing yourself with each tasks and projecting how long each item will actually take you. There might be some items on your list that might actually belong in your calendar. 

Some items in your list are too broad

When I used my to-do list, I would just write things down so I wouldn't forget. Therefore, I would write down something like 'Finish marketing budget.' Many items in our to-do list are too vague and need to be broken down into smaller tasks. This could also be a reason why are time management is off - the smaller tasks of a bigger task can take up more of our time. Get in the habit of breaking down the projects or tasks into smaller tasks, even if they sound too simple. For example, if you need to complete your marketing budget, you might have to review quarterly expenses, itemize certain expenses, figure out how much certain things will cost, etc. 

You are not prioritizing the things on your list

During the time I used my to-do list, I found out that the biggest problem I had was prioritizing. This is because my to-do list had no system to differentiate between the most important things and the things that could wait. Therefore, when things were more pressing, I always thought I was 'fighting fires' but most of the time this was because I wasn't prioritizing the right things. There are different ways to prioritize the things you need to do. You can add due dates, add a number system where 1 is a high priority and 5 is a lower priority item or highlight the most pressing things.

All-in I would suggest using a different method of managing your projects and tasks that require you to leverage your calendar a bit more. As I later found out in my career, time management is the first step to achieving a stronger work-life balance. 

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