Day 2: Making Your To-Do List Work

Now that you have your goals planned out from Day 1, a good next step in simplifying is to start using an effective To-Do List to plan out your week. Planning out your tasks on a weekly level gives you a bigger outlook than just focusing on “today” plus it gives you more flexibility to move around as you can see your whole week at a glance. Start your week off by checking your calendar and noting on your weekly To-Do List any commitments you have. Then you can fill in your days with tasks that need to be completed. You can use this list for anything you need to do, from “meeting with teacher” to “laundry” and “call insurance.” I’ve used day planner binders in the past, as well as digital To-Do Lists in my iPhone, but I always come back to pen and paper, because there’s just something so methodical about listing out items by hand and something so satisfying about marking them off when completed. I created my own downloadable To-Do List – you can print it out on regular letter-size paper and fold it in half for portability. I carry my list everywhere, and I also use it to note down weekly meal plans and shopping lists. 

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there’s the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” ~Lin Yutang

When I created my printable To-Do List, I didn’t leave a ton of space for dozens of daily tasks. Part of managing an effective To-Do List that can really help you simplify your life is in learning to manage your tasks to eliminate the stuff that really isn’t necessary and concentrating your time on what matters most. You don’t have to do everything now. Spend some time in the next few weeks learning to prioritize your daily activities to include the essentials, and eliminate the extra “stuff” that may be clogging up your day and keeping you from what you really want to do.

Tomorrow: Simplifying Dinner

This post is part of the Fresh Start Series, 31 days of tips and tricks to simplify in the new year.