“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
– John Wooden
I worked for an education company back in 2008 and, as a new manager, I was eager to learn everything that was assigned to me. One of the first things I received at that job was a composition book. One of my colleagues at the time gave it to me and told me that the composition book will help me manage my time. I used that composition book as a to-do list and wrote down all the tasks and projects I had to complete.
As time progressed, I was given additional responsibilities and my to-do list got longer and longer. What worked for me my first year as a supervisor was no longer working for me as my position grew. Shortly after, I was promoted to the Senior Program Manager position and my composition book was in trouble. I felt as though every year I needed to adapt new ways of doing things because the old ways were not effective any more. After reading a few books and articles I adjusted the way I managed my time, which later helped me balance life and work. After a few years, my notebook with my to-do lists became extinct.
Although to-do list are great for chores and a few other simple tasks in our lives, they are not the most effective tool to manage our projects, our time or our to-do things. Here are three reasons why I believe a to-do list is not an effective tool:
1. There are no time estimates associated with those things on your to-do list
Let’s day your to-do list has a list of 10 things you need to complete. How long will it take you to finish all 10 things? Well, those 10 things could take you an hour to complete or 3 days depending on what they are. Each item on your list has a time associated with its completion. This is why a to-do list can misguide you when you try to manage your time. Your list is most likely just a list of words, not time. Practice timing yourself with each tasks and estimate the estimated time of completion for each and every item on your list. There could be items on your list that actually belong in your calendar instead.
2. Some items on your list are too broad
When I used my to-do list, I would write things down so I wouldn’t forget. Therefore, I would write down something like ‘Finish marketing budget.’ Many items in our to-do list are too vague and need to be broken down into smaller tasks or more specific terms. This could also be a reason why we struggle with time management – smaller tasks of a big project can take up a lot of your time. Get in the habit of breaking down the projects or tasks into smaller tasks, even if they sound too simple. For example, if you need to complete your marketing budget, you might have to review quarterly expenses, itemize certain expenses, figure out how much certain things will cost, etc.
3. You are not prioritizing the things on your list
The biggest issue I used to have with my to-do list was the issue of prioritizing appropriately. My to-do list had no system to differentiate between the most important things and the things those could wait. Therefore, when things were more pressing, I always thought I was ‘fighting fires’ but most of the time this was because I wasn’t prioritizing the right things. There are different ways to prioritize the things you need to do. You can add due dates, add a number system where 1 is a high priority and 5 is a lower priority item or highlight the most pressing things. However, I suggest using a different method for managing your projects and tasks that require the use of a digital calendar like Outlook or Google Calendar. As I later found out in my career, time management is the first step to achieving a stronger work-life balance.
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