To Do Lists and the Reason Behind Them

To do lists and the reason behind them! I make lists and they are a great way to ‘remind’ myself what needs to be done.

Funny thing is ‘list makers’ think if there is no To Do list, things can’t possibly get done, but with a list, great things can be accomplished.

The reason behind to do lists, is basically helping yourself remember what you need to do.

A basic To Do List probably has the following-

Pay those bills

Make that call

Appointments

Meet with Someone

Urgent

To Do List Training

My To Do List training didn’t start till I was an adult. It wasn’t until college that I even thought of making a To Do List. However I had a roommate who made a organized To Do list and then organized all her day around that list.

I was fascinated. She put things in her backpack she would need for the day. Bills to be mailed. Homework to be turned in. She set her water bottle, keys and notebook all together in preparation of checking off on her list that she had all her important things together.

I however was a hot mess and hoped for the best. This is of course before ‘the list’. I tried to remember things.

I tried to be organized, but really had no plan.

A To Do list is a simple collection of things to do, things to take, things to remember.

I am adding a printable here you can click on to save, and then print out. At the first of the month I make several ‘To Do Lists’ for the month. I have one for work and then a different one for all the other things.

The To Do list simply collects my thoughts of what is important that I should do, need to do, hope to accomplish. It isn’t a weight on me because I take what is in my head, write it down, and it helps me be successful, rather than the usual hot mess.

Save the To Do List below. Click on it with your mouse, right click to save it to your device or computer. Then print out multiple times

I was never organized from the starting gate so I had to read books, watch organized people and ask questions. What I learned through that process was invaluable to my life. It helped me save hours of time, where normally I would look for things, because I had no ‘place’ to keep things.

I set things down when I walked through the door, not really considering anything but dropping my belongings by the door.

To Do Lists and the Reason Behind Them-A to do list is simply a place to put down in one place, all the things. Again, it is bills to pay, calls to make, emails, homework, or work items, groceries to buy and appointments.

A to do list has an important reason behind it and it is a big one: to get the basic things done not leaving out the important. It helps me to focus on what I want to do and need to do.

I feel like I spent so much time looking for bills and trying to remember where I put things. I spent more time being frustrated that I never had time to focus on what I should be doing with my life.

My purpose. Forget the to do list what about purpose!

This is really what led me to using ‘to do’ lists to accomplish the everyday mundane, but equally important tasks. If I could spend less time trying to figure things out, find things, remember things perhaps I would focus my time towards what I wanted to accomplish. Again I confess I get distracted.

Once written down, I know that the list has everything on it or most everything on it that I need to remember. I keep it in my purse, actually my planner to refer to.

If I take it out and set it down, then once again I’m in trouble, because I will ask myself “where did I put my list?’

A couple of other ideas for you to take away – on your phone, you may have “notes’ or a list making app to access and use. I have an app I can click on and just type away, all the things I need to do for that day.

I also keep lists in my phone. Under notes or files, or the easiest app I can find. This helps me access my lists, my calendar, and past to do lists. I use my ‘notes’ app on my iPhone. It is simple, not challenging to use, and works for me. I confess I’ve used other organizing apps but just writing is what helps me with my lists.

To do lists keep you focused and for the sake of this blog post, I am sharing a printable To Do List that you can print out multiple times and write your list down on. Click on it above and save it, begin using it today!

Be sure to read my latest posts to help you navigate your day better!

• Planning Today and in the New Year
• I needed to say hello for some time now.
• How to Plan Your Day – Simple Actionable Steps
• Making Goals & Maximizing Daily Time
• Add Time to Your Day part 2

To Do Lists and Planner pages in my SHOP available in COTTAGECHICPRINTABLE

I personally like to use printables that contain checklists, planning pages, to do list style printables. There are bundles of several organizing and planning type printables available in my shop for reasonable prices.

I print what I need and if I run out I print more. I keep my lists in a planner for my purse and a binder for home management.

But now I have trained and retrained myself to look at my list and that helps me get more done. All of this is because I have a great goal of a few things I am trying to accomplish this year and next.

I know I might do stupid things with my time like wasting time, too much time on social media. It is a process that I am breaking because again I have a really big goal.

I know God has good plans for me as He says in His word- Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope.”

I don’t want to waste my time doing stupid things.

I know that I have to do my part to grow into the person God intended me to be.

Learn more, grow more, educate myself, ask questions, invest good things in myself that I can learn from a book, podcast, training video, Youtube how to videos.

Even a farmer knows you have to plant a seed to get a harvest, or a return. One corn seed yields a corn cob with hundreds of kernels/seeds on it. Just think planting seeds of wisdom, knowledge, skills, and more in life what could grow as a result of that.

Debbie Booth