This is Part 3 and the final installment in the How to Make the Most of Your 24-Day series.
We all have priorities… whether we've pre-determined them or not. We can choose to make living with intention a priority or we can choose to make letting life hit us as it comes a priority.
If we don't decide ahead of time our intentions for the day, in almost every case, the day will fill up.
By writing out a to do list for the day, you are deciding ahead of time what your priorities are. On the flip side, you are also decided what your priorities AREN’T. Because if it’s not on the list, it’s not a priority.
You probably already know and believe that a to do list is a good idea. But judging from the emails I’ve received in a recent weeks, many of you are frustrated because it seems like no matter how hard you try, you never make it through half the things on your list?
Here are three keys that help me actually finish my to do list almost every single day:
Keep It Short
Most of us know that we cannot do it all, but that doesn't stop us from trying. And in the process of trying, we end up high-strung, exhausted, and overwhelmed.
For years, I set myself up for defeat day after day by creating an unrealistic to-do list. I always have lots of things I want to do and things I need to do. Instead of pacing myself and spacing out my projects, I’d harness my over-achieving personality and create impossibly long to-do lists for each day.
It took me a long time to realize that by creating an unrealistic to do list for my day, I was setting myself up for defeat from the get-go. So I started requiring myself to not put anymore than 10 items on my to-do list. That might sound like a lot — but that was a huge improvement over my previous 20 or 30 items. 
Make It Time-Bound
In addition to keeping my to do list short, I started putting time blocks for each item on the to do list. Instead of just making a list telling me that I needed to do this, that, this, that, and that other thing, I actually write specific time blocks for each item on the to do list.
Not only does assigning specific times for each task help me to make a clear plan for my day, but it also guarantees I don’t plan to do 26 hours’ worth of work in a 24-hour day. As I’m writing out the plan for the day, I will often realize I just don’t have enough time to do everything I had hoped to do and still have margin and family time. So this forces me to choose the top priorities and either delete the other ideas or bump them to another day.
Yes, it takes more time to have to think through your day like this, but I’ve found it is so worth it. In fact, I find it very empowering! You see, I write my to do list for the next day right before I go to bed. And when I finish it, I can go to sleep knowing that the next day is {in most cases!} not overwhelming… there are enough hours and there is a plan in place. All I have to do is get up and follow the plan!
Re-Work It Often
This might sound like just something that would make more work, but hear me out! I’ve found it to be tremendously helpful to re-write my to do list/action plan for the day around noon.
Why? Because usually my morning never goes quite as planned. Which means that I didn’t quite get to everything and I’m started to feel a little overwhelmed. When this happens, instead of letting the frustration levels rise, I try to stop and re-evaluate my list.
In most cases, I’ll find an item or two that I can bump to another day or a project I can streamline. For instance, instead of trying to get all the kitchen cupboards cleaned out, I’ll just down-size the project to the two messiest cupboards. Or, instead of trying to finish that entire article for another site, I’ll commit to working on it for 20 minutes.
This one strategy of stopping and re-working my to-do list in the middle of the day has made a major impact in my productivity and stress levels. Taking five minutes to re-group mid-day not only re-energizes me, but it also gives me renewed focus and productivity. Try it and maybe it will work for you, too!
What helps you finish your to do list? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks!
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