Is Your To Do List Too Long?

Are you one of those people who is overwhelmed by the number of items on your to-do list? Unwieldy to-do lists often have a mix of daily tasks, projects and long-term goals, and can sometimes look so overwhelming, we procrastinate even the simplest of tasks. An easy solution is to create more than one list.

Are there some things on your list that you transfer from week-to-week and never complete? Ask yourself the reason for the procrastination. Perhaps it makes more sense to transfer some to a project list. If that is the case, break the project into steps and put only the first one or two steps on your daily to-do list. And if you still procrastinate a particular task, it may mean that the task is not so important. Be honest. If you've been able to put it off for so long, perhaps it can be removed altogether. A deeper way to probe the procrastination is to ask yourself if it simply is out of sync with who you are at this time in your life or out of sync with what you would truly like to be doing.

Is another task causing you to feel confused and overwhelmed? Maybe you need more information in order to do it? Getting that information or support is task number 1. Look closely. Can you ask someone else to do something for you that you really don't enjoy? If not, plan to reward yourself when you've done the task.

In short:

- Break to-do lists into manageable, comfortable steps with comfortable deadlines.
- Split the big to-do list into separate categories (daily, projects, long-term).
- Look closely at why you procrastinate, then move or delete the task accordingly.
- Always get the information you need to decide if a task is worth keeping.
- Delegate what you can't or don't like doing.
- Reward yourself whenever you complete any task.