How to keep a long to-do list in perfect order

1. Regularly check the relevance of tasks

When the to-do list gets too long and confusing, it's time to go over all the items again and remove the ones that are no longer relevant. Most likely, you will find tasks that can be postponed until later, delegated to someone else, or not done at all.

2. Analyze your involvement in projects

Ask yourself one simple question: “If I don’t complete this task by the end of the week (month, year), will I be comfortable”? If the answer is positive, the project can be safely moved to the “To Do Someday” list or crossed out forever.

This method is suitable not only for personal, but also for work matters. If you want to pay less attention to any project or abandon it, discuss it with your boss and determine priorities together.

Another factor to keep in mind is expectations. They are internal (coming from ourselves) and external (coming from others), and they, too, should be controlled and discussed. It’s better to honestly evaluate what you can and can’t do, what you want to do, and what you are definitely not interested in. That way you can make sure you live up to your expectations.

3. Work with sources

Usually, all tasks can be grouped depending on the source from which they come: email, work computer, calls, everyday life, and so on. When a to-do list from one source gets especially long, it's time to deal with it.

For example, on a work computer, you perform several professional tasks. Try to separate them by program, for example "projects Word”, “Adobe Premiere Pro projects”, “Excel projects”. Yes, there will be more lists, but they will be much shorter, and it will be easier for you to navigate.

4. Split Lists

It is possible to split long to-do lists into shorter and more convenient ones not only by sources. Any criterion will do - the time you spend on tasks, the amount of energy they take from you, the urgency or the type of action. The main thing is that it is easy for you to choose the next thing to do.

5. Join lists

Too small cases, on the contrary, can be combined to increase efficiency. Keep a separate list of "quick things" that take no more than 5 minutes, such as writing an email to a client or copying text into a document for editing. These tasks can be completed at the end of the day or at any other moment when there is not enough energy for something big and important.