Not to brag, but, I am The Master of The List.

See the man in the picture on the right? He’s still in training.

After reading Trent’s article at The Simple Dollar entitled “Dealing With Things Left Undone“, I was inspired to share my knowledge on this topic, and also, perhaps, start a discussion here on how others organize their lives.

There are many reasons to organize my day. For instance, I didn’t become a Master of The List for nothing- as my grandmother used to ask me repeatedly as a child-and I quote here-

“How could you forget that, honey? Did you fall off the turnip truck?”

In fact, their are many reasons to make a good list:

Reasons for Lists

• They help me remember. How many times would I have forgotten that birthday card if I hadn’t written it down?
• They help me organize. Efficiency is everything. I can save a lot of time planning my errands ahead. For instance- is the library near the grocery store? Is the liquor store near it? OK, three trips becomes one trip with three stops.
• They help me prioritize. 1) liquor store, 2) library, 3) grocery store (so the ice cream doesn’t melt on the way home.)
• They give me a feeling of accomplishment, every time I get to check something off.
• I save time and money when I am organized. I remember my coupons and cloth bags for the grocery store. I use less gas by planning my errands. Etc.

Things I Have Been Guilty of When Making Lists

• I have added things not on the list, so that I could then cross them off. This is not the best situation, as it means I have not followed my prioritization, but, never the less, at least I did something.
• I break down a task into multiple activities. I get to make more cross offs, while actually accomplishing a lot less. When I’m feeling particularly lazy, this is a good way to get me moving. For instance, liquor store might be broken down into two separate tasks: 1) Purchase three bottles of favorite wine on sale, and b) get two Boston Red Sox scratch tickets with savings from sale.
• I have removed things from my lists. I figure this is ok if I can justify it. List are all about logical thinking.

Now, with the introduction complete, let me settle in on the task at hand:

How to Make a Great List

Tools required-

• An excel spreadsheet is preferable, but if you prefer paper and pen, you can just put numbers next to each task to prioritize it. It is hard to make a list in the right order from the start.
• Cup of strong coffee, or other means of waking up-

Make the List- (best done at the start of your day)

1. Transfer all the tasks you didn’t do on yesterday’s list over to today’s list.
2. Add any new tasks.
3. Assign all jobs that absolutely have to get done today a “1″. Then rank them in order of descending importance with letters: “A” is the first thing you’ll do, “B” is the second thing, etc.
4. Next, find all the jobs that you would like to get done today, and assign them a number “2″ status. Again, rank them just as you did with the “1″s.
5. Finally, assign everything else to the “3″ category. I call this the “Dream On” section. I hardly ever get to these things, so I don’t rank them. If you think you’ll get to them, though, you can also prioritize this section.
6. Now, take an overall view of the list, and ask yourself these questions:
   1. Do you have enough time to accomplish all of the “1″s? If you realistically can’t get through them all, move those you can’t get to over to the “2″s right now. May as well. It alleviates the guilt at the end of the day, when all your “1″s aren’t crossed off.
   2. What am I missing? You can always add later. too.

I guarantee that if you do this for a few days you’ll see yourself getting more accomplished.

And remember: 21 days makes a habit.

Another Great Master: Manny Ramirez

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