TO DO lists - Why they are so needed?

I sat here this morning with my brain on overdrive, going through all the many things I have to get done. Some of these things are urgent, some are not, but its easy for my mind to get overloaded and then I end up doing nothing but think about the best way forward. Good time management? I think not! Most of us have busy lives, with work, social, leisure, family, friends, hobbies and much more, taking it out of you each week. To remember everything that needs doing is a feat in itself, and having ad hoc lists won't help anyone as they are likely to get lost and things missed anyway. Whats needed is a fail safe plan to get things done in a timely and organised and STRESS FREE way.

The absolute best thing I can suggest for you is to have somewhere to place everything that you have to do, so that you can really prioritise and scrutinise it without it taking over you life. If you continue down the path of doing what needs to be done at that specific time, then you may never make it towards your goals, and will feel that you are working hard for nothing. Thats where a MASTER TO DO list comes in.

Tricks that Organised People Use

How can some people get so much more done in a day than others? Whats their secret and how can you be more like them?

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• JUST DO IT – Stop procrastinating about how much you need to get done, and get started. The mere time it takes to worry and moan could have been used much more wisely and you could have taken something off the TO DO list easily. Some of the most productive people swear by doing what hurts most, first. Getting the worst of your days tasks over and done with can really give you a lift, and you may find that you can get loads more done than you thought, and the opposite is true if you are leaving the worst jobs til last, your subconscious will try and delay getting to these tasks, and as a result you will go slower, feel slower, and feel very demotivated.

Have a spare few minutes?

So today I had a few minutes spare and I started thinking about how I could use the time well, rather than simply procrastinate and waste it. It made me think about starting a list of things to do in those few minutes, that aren't urgent, but would make all the difference to my home / life if they were done. Heres my list so far, see what else you can think of!

• Spare change – collect from around the house, count up and bag – then you can add to your errands to take it to the bank.

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Ways to save Time

Everyday we spend hours trying to complete tasks, and the majority of us could use an extra hour in the day - so how can we make that hour appear? Its all about being clever with your time, and maximising it where you can.

I have made a list here of all the things to look at deleting from your life that are wasting time - and hope that you can claim back some time to do the more exciting things on your TO DO list!!!

Things to delete to make time for you:-

1. People who bring you down, who you don't feel uplifted by after speaking to.
2. Tasks that you do but are not necessary (if noone notices, are they worth doing?)
3. Tasks that are not getting your one step closer to your goals
4. Tasks that you could delegate to others (a professional or a willing helper!)
5. Lengthy meetings or conversations - set a specific agenda and say what time you have free
6. Waiting in queues - plan your day as much as possible so things are done in quiet times (do you really have to drive in rush hour?, can you shop late or early rather than at lunch time when its busier?)
7. Making time for going to the bank - Move to online banking
8. Paying bills as they come in - pay by direct debit instead
9. Junk mail and sales calls
10. Answering the phone to unknown callers - if they need you they will leave a message - why interrupt your train of thought when it may not be important
11. Checking email and social media sites regularly - set a specific time to do this once a day
12. Being reactive about errands - be proactive instead and try and group errands so you only go to specific places once a week rather than several trips
13. Food shopping on foot - online is much quicker (and saves temptation of buying items you don't need)
14. Wasted time on TV - work out how much time watching a soap opera takes out of each week - what could you be doing instead!
15. Things you feel you should do rather than things that you want to do
16. saying YES too much - overgiving will suck your time away - learn to say NO as well.

Anyone got some more? - please add any you can think of - If you follow even just one of these then you are sure to free up some valuable time in your life.