To Do or not To Do - That is the Question

The 80-20 rule applies to To Do lists as well. 80% of the items collectively contribute only 20% of the results. Those 20% of the items, the real priorities, should be scheduled in your planner as appointments with yourself so get them done. If you’re in doubt about whether something should be scheduled or put on a To Do list, ask yourself, “What would be the consequences of not getting this done?” If the answer is “Very little,” add it to your To Do list.

It’s best to use a planner to house your To Do list, not separate sheets of paper. You could easily misplace a separate sheet of paper. And you might also spend time copying the sheets over as they are diminished to two or three remaining items. There’s also the added advantage of seeing what you did each week since the crossed off items remain intact.

With a weekly To Do list you have next week’s To Do list as well. Each time a new task surfaces, you decide whether it should be done this week, next week or even later, and add it to that page.

Whether you use a week at a glance or a day at a glance planner is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to see how my week is shaping up. I like to be able to instantly spot my plans for the entire week and see what time I have left for additional projects. Robert Hochheiser, in his book Time Management (Barrons,1998) also claims that with day-by-day calendars you would have to turn pages four times to go from the beginning to the end of the week. But for many people that’s not a big deal.