Listmania: 4 Tips for Turning Lists into Your New Best Friend

I’m a big fan of lists. 

I have lists of house projects that Greg and I want to work on; lists of trips we want to take; lists for each of my clients; and lists for groceries and supplies that need restocking. Even my 14-year-old daughter, Emily, has gotten into the swing of things by keeping a list of all the songs she intends to buy on iTunes.

You name it, the Wasser family lists it.

My passion for lists took off back when I worked in corporate America managing a team.  I used them to track work that was assigned to each member and to keep tabs on how projects were progressing.

Unfortunately, and as I’ve learned firsthand with my client Peter, list-love is not universal.

To Peter, a list is simply documented proof of what he hasn’t accomplished, with some items literally carrying over for years. He told me that not only don’t his lists bring order and satisfaction to his life, they are an overwhelming source of dread.

So I gave him four tips for turning his lists from enemies into friends:
 

1.  Categorize.  Instead of having one BIG list, create a separate list for each category in your life. Then create sub-categories for each project.  For example, my “house project” list looks like this:

House Projects
–      Kitchen List

• • • Spackle walls
    • Choose paint color
    • Clean heater covers

– Dining Room List

• • • Finish painting
    • Hang pictures
    • Buy new placemats

Categorizing helps remove the feeling of being overwhelmed. It also help you see things that you may have forgotten.

2.  Break it Down. When adding tasks to your lists make sure they are actionable.  A goal such as “deliver four webinars in 2016” is fine, but by itself is too vague to act upon. So list the steps necessary to make your goal a reality.

Your webinar project list might look like this:

–      Webinar #1

• • • Decide topic
    • Name the webinar
    • Decide the price
    • Write the text for the webpage
    • Create a promotion schedule

3.  Use a System.  I’ve used several systems over the years to manage my lists, everything from notebooks and 3 x 5 cards back in the day to the full-blown project management system that I rely on now (see Things I Can’t Live Without below for details). But the truth is, it doesn’t matter what your system is … just so long as it works and you use it consistently.

Over time, and depending upon how many things you’re trying to track, you’ll probably need to revise your system now and then. You’ll know it’s time when things start falling through the cracks. When that happens, don’t beat yourself up. Just look at your system and see what needs to be improved upon.

4.  Invest Some Time Up Front.  At one point, I had most of my to-dos on lists but an entirely different “sticky note” approach for reminding me about the things that weren’t there. As you can imagine, this was a lot more trouble than it was worth, since I wasted lots of time coordinating between the two approaches.

I finally yelled, “Enough!” and took time to add all information from the stickies to my proper lists. I cleaned out my inbox as well (a place where I kept other to-dos) and added that information to my system.

The result? It was the best use of a few hours I’d spent in years. Today, my fancy project management system emails me each morning with all the items that are due that day, allowing me to quickly see where to spend my time.

One final thought. Some people say that lists and planning take away spontaneity. In my experience, it’s quite the opposite. With all the little details happily taken care of, I can now use that part of my brain for more fun and creative purposes.

Try it. Then add your comments below to let me know how you make out.