Time Management Ninja/ 5 Productivity Questions to Ask About Your To-do List

Here are 5 Questions to Ensure Your To-do List Helps You Get More Done:

1. Do You Have ONE List? – The Power of 1, that is one type of tool for each need. This means one todo list. Not multiple lists spread across multiple places, mediums, and locations.
2. Is Your Todo List Simple? – Your list should be the simplest tool that gets the job done. You don’t need all the bells and whistles. (In fact, paper often trumps technology. ) And it shouldn’t take entering 57 fields to add a todo to your list. Keep your list simple.
3. Do You Like Your List? – This one often catches people off-guard. Yes, you should like using your list. Otherwise, you’ll stop using it. Paper, fine. App, okay. Either way, it’s about whether you will use it. Choose tools you’ll use.
4. Is it Always with You? – Your list has to be with you at all times. It order to remind you of your work and priorities, you need to look at it regularly. If it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. Whatever format your list, make sure that it can be carried with you. Apps make that easy, as our phones are omnipresent. However, if your list is paper-based, make sure it is portable and travels with you.
5. Is it Actionable? Take a look at your list. Is it filled with actual tasks? Actions that you can actually do. Or is it filled with vague and nondescript project names and thoughts that are just that… thoughts. Make sure that the todos on your list are doable tasks. A good tip is to make sure that each of your task descriptions has a verb in it.

Read the full article here by Craig Jarrow, author of "Time Management Ninja."