Ready to make life more productive? It starts with taking control of your TO DO list – and this list of 8 quick things to declutter from your TO DO list will help you do just that.
How Can You Be Productive Every Day?
To be as productive as possible each and every day you need to be working in your genius zone as much of the time as physically possible.
By ‘genius zone’, I mean doing things that you’re great at, and that truly make you happy.
Think about how you feel when you’re in the middle of doing something you love. How satisfied you are, and how the time just flies by.
You get to the end of the day fulfilled, and want to do it again and again…
THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO AIM FOR EVERY DAY.
Yes – of course there are things that you can’t NOT do.
Life is ALWAYS going to take you on a few bumpy roads and throw you a few curve balls (not to mention the kids doing the same!) – but you can do as much as possible to alleviate your usual day to day by minimising what you can of the things you don’t enjoy.
Once you start to really work out what tasks you’re doing, what time they take up, and how you feel about them – then you’re on the way to a much more productive day.
It therefore stands to reason that if you can declutter some of the stuff you’re doing that isn’t in your genius zone, you’ll find you’re left with the things that you can do more quickly, and more happily – and you’ll be oh so productive as a result.
Sounds good, right!
So, let’s get started.
Grab your TO DO list and start crossing off anything that is in the list below – these are things that most of us feel the same about (i.e. those things that we can get rid of without a backwards glance…).
Things To Declutter From Your TO DO List Right Now
#1 – Anything On Your TO DO List That’s Outdated
We all have a few things that were important at the time we wrote them down on that list, but over time they’ve become unimportant because the need TO DO them has passed (either through a change of circumstance, or through the passing of time).
By getting them off the list, you can then focus on what’s important – and feel a little lighter when looking at a now much smaller list.
#2 – Anything on Your TO DO List That Doesn’t Need To Be Done
These are things that I call ‘Wish list’, or ‘Nice To Do‘ items.
They’re things that we WANT to get done, but things that don’t NEED to get done, and that no-one will be affected by if they don’t get done.
I always suggest decluttering them from your TO DO list, and (so they aren’t forgotten completely, so when you have time you can pick them up again) adding them to a new list instead.
#3 – Anything On Your TO DO List That You Always Leave
As with clutter around your home, you can start to become blind to things on your TO DO list after a while.
Whether you’re avoiding it or are truly not seeing it when you look at the list – get rid of it now.
Because anything on your TO DO list that you always leave, will ALWAYS be left.
If it was important or timely – you’d have it scheduled and done by now.
Again – as with clutter – do yourself a favour and get rid of it.
Because whether you know it or not, it’s having a negative affect on you every time your subconscious sees it.
#4 – Anything On Your TO DO List That You Do As A Habit Already
It’s always nice to add things to your list that you know you’ll do.
Who doesn’t like crossing things off the list because they’re already done?
It’s an easy win – and it’s slightly addictive. But it’s not helping you – in fact – it’s wasting your own valuable time.
Get rid of these things now.
They shouldn’t be there in the first place because you do them as habit anyway!
#5 – Items On Your TO DO List That Someone Else Could Do
As you’ve probably guessed already, this is all about delegation.
We’ve talked at the start of this post about keeping to things in your Genius Zone as much as possible so that you can be productive every day – so what about those things that still need to be done but that aren’t in your zone?
GIVE THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE!
It’s simple – but all too often we forget that this is an option.
We don’t have to do it all (although it feels like we do) – and so we can give ourselves a break by delegating more.
There are so many options for this, and here’s a few to get you started: –
- Hire a Cleaner – get someone to do an hour or more for you – and be specific about the tasks that you don’t like doing.
- Hire an Ironer
- Hire a Gardener
- Give jobs to the rest of the family (little kids and big kids can help!)
- Split jobs with friends (doing the school run etc…)
#6 – Items On Your TO DO List That Could Be Automated
The world is getting more and more automated – so whether we like it or not we may as well make use of it when we can.
After all – it can really take a load of our plates and give us more time back to do the good stuff!
Hands up if you’re ready to let the robots do a few more things….
Here are some easy wins in this field that can be ticked off your TO DO list and automated asap: –
- Paying bills – set up Direct Debits (these are usually cheaper as well – double win!)
- Vacuuming – get a robot vacuum that works away while you’re busy elsewhere
- Photos – My husband set up our phones so that any photos we take get saved automatically to Dropbox for us – which saves SO much time each week.
- Shopping – set up a standing order for items you purchase regularly. Amazon are great for this with their subscribe and save service – and I use it often for food and other items I know I need every month or two.
#7 – Items On Your TO DO List That Take Less Than 2 Minutes To Do
Seriously now – how long did it take you to get your list out and write down these things?
Probably longer than it would have taken to just get it done.
Do yourself a favour and spend half an hour just getting those quick things ticked off – and add a reminder to yourself at the top of your list to never put anything on the list again that takes longer to add to the list….
#8 – Items On Your TO DO List That Have A Deadline
Rule #1 for TO DO lists is that only things that have no time frame around them should be on there.
Anything with a timeframe (i.e. buy present for a birthday, send invites for a party etc…) HAVE to be done by a certain time.
If they’re lurking in your TO DO list they have a good chance of being missed until it’s too late.
Now is the time to move them from your TO DO list into your diary.
Add them at the right time and you’ll have plenty of leeway to buy gifts, and remember important dates.
TIP – Add a reminder for present shopping at least 2 months before the date needed – and then a second reminder with 2 weeks to go. That way you have time to order anything specific and wait for delivery – AND you get the second reminder which will prompt you to wrap and post/deliver.
Those are the 8 things to declutter from your TO DO list right now…
I hope that your TO DO list is looking a lot leaner now – and that you’ve decluttered it a lot.
Whether the items have been deleted fully, or moved to a better (more productive) place – like a WISH LIST, or your DIARY, then you’re in a better and more organised position than before.
Your TO DO list can truly be your best friend when it comes to free-ing up your head from all those niggles that lurk there – so make it work hard (and better) for you by keeping it neat and tidy.
P.S. If you want a new TO DO list – then I have a totally FREE one available in the FREE Printables Library. You can get your hands on it (and all the others) by clicking HERE.
