Do you make To Do lists but then don't follow them?

The topic of "to do lists" is an issue that many people agonize over. If you are like the hundreds of people who tell me they make lots of lists, but have difficulty following them or even finding them, you are not alone! 

Difficulty following lists is very common among people with a creative or right-brain dominant personality style as well as with ADDers. In addition, people with certain kinds of brain injuries or head injuries may find it easy to "make" lists, but have much trouble "following" lists. 

There are many psychological, neurological, learning style, sensory, and even genetic reasons why some people are not good at "following" written instructions of any kind, including their own lists! 

I'm going to spare you the theories, but promise me you'll stopping beating yourself up!  It's not that you are lazy or procrastinating...it's how you are wired.  So let's accept it and work with it.  Even though it's not easy for you...there are some tricks to making your lists easier to follow.  

Here's the thing about making lists. Writing itself is a very effective way to clarify what's on your mind, process information and enhance your ability to remember things. So there is a good reason to keep on making your lists! They help you:

• Remember things better (just like taking notes)
• Slow down your brain to the speed of writing so that you can think more clearly and get your ideas out.
• Articulate your ideas. 
• Reduce your fear that you will forget the items

Before we look at ways to make lists easier to follow...let's look as some of the things that make them more difficult to follow.  Lists may be harder to follow if:

• There are too many items 
• Handwriting isn't clear or the lettering is not big enough
• You use light colored ink or pencil 
• The paper used is colored and does not provide a high contrast with the ink used 
• Action items aren't listed in order of priority and you have to scan the whole list to decide which things to do next.
• Item don't list all the information you need to act on it, e.g. for some people, if they don't write the phone number and have to hunt it down, they will skip write over that item on the list.  
• The spacing between the items is too close.  
• More than a day or 2 goes by before you look at it again (particularly if you have ADD, the list may lose all sense of urgency)
• You have any kind of reading or vision difficulties such as a mild dyslexia
• You are stressed when you look at the list 
• You have lots of other ideas going through your head when you look at 
• The items are so brief that you forget what was actually meant. For example, I have seen many examples of people writing things like "Call Doctor" and then forgetting which doctor and why.    

There are many more items I could add, but I think you get the idea.  Everyone is different in terms of what works best for them, but here are some tips that might help you make your lists easier to "follow".

• Limit the items to 4 - 6 short items on them
• Use very clear large lettering, I use a black Sharpie for lists I really need to follow
• Put lots of space between items.  This makes it easier for your brain to focus on one item at a time. 
• Put a little box or circle in front of each item so that you can check it off when you are done
• Put high priority items at the top, lower priority in the bottom half of the list. 
• Use color or other visual cues to help you highlight the highest priority items:  e.g., highlighters or my personal fave is to draw "clouds" or "bubbles" around the  most important things.
• Use brightly colored paper with high contrast to your ink.
• Use a TO DO notebook that is ONLY for Action Items.  Put a removeable tab or post-it on pages with open items in your notebook. 
• Don't mix things you would "like to do" with things that you really "will or must do". One trick I've used is to turn the notebook upside down and use the back of the book to capture "brainstorms" and "ideas" or use a separate notebook all together.   
• Some people need "novelty" to help stimulate their brain to pay attention to their lists, so using different color paper and highlighters may be effective.  So if you are the types that likes trying out new ways to make your lists, have fun with it, but be aware that if you try lots of complicated software to do lists you are probably wasting a ton of time learning and setting up new ways to do your lists.  Try to restrain your "novelty needs" to simple, easy changes. 

Alternatives to linear lists and paper may also help you follow lists better.  I use different methods for different kinds of lists. Some of the tools I use:

• Digital Recorder
• Calling in to my Voice mail 
• White boards (I have a couple small ones that I use like pads of paper, and one on the wall fo rwhen I need to move around to think/) 
• Mind Mapping 
• Flip Chart that I hang on a nail on my office door 
• Post-it Flip Charts that I hang on my wall.  
• Magnetic pads for my refrigerator  
• Chalkboard in the kitchen 

You may need to experiment with alternate ways to find the best way for you to make your lists, and you may need different kinds of lists for different things.  Some people need to stick to one kind of list, others need the diversity.  Give yourself permission to play and experiment till you find methods that not only attract you but are easy to read and follow later.  Another option is to just give yourself permission to make lists with the intention of helping you get things off your mind without the expectation that you have to follow them! If they helped you remember, and you did the action item without looking at your list. That's good enough.  

Have a quirky way to make lists work for you?  Leave a comment below!

Comments

[Tannie]

Great entry!

I typed a lot more, but decided my comment would get ridiculously long, so I'll just type it up on my own blog and ping yours ;)

I'm glad you emphasise it works differently for everybody. Everyone needs to find what works for them (takes a bit of time) because then the TODO-list will work for them, and not against them (in the way that one might get overwhelmed by all the items and all the things to do)

[Cynthia Friedlob, The Thoughtful Consumer]

I use index cards for my To Do lists. Lots and lots of index cards! I shuffle them as my priorities change, often have to rewrite them when I put dissimilar items on the same card, and frequently curse the stack that accumulates, but it's the most efficient system I've found -- using the term "efficient" very loosely!

However, I must have a serious aversion to grocery store lists. I faithfully make a list and almost always forget to bring it to the store. Maybe it's because I don't like shopping!

[Debbie Jordan Kravitz (Virtually Organized)]

Great suggestions, Ariane!

I use Planner Pads to keep my schedules; I love the built-in list features. I categorize my lists (Household, Client-related, Writing-related, Family/Kids-related) because I often have several high priority items that are scattered across my personal and professional life. I wrote about this a while back at Virtually Organized (http://mypersonalorganizer.typepad.com/virtually_organized/2008/10/oh-lovely-lists-what-would-i-do-without-you.html)

[Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed.]

Thank you all for your great input!

@ Tannie: I really liked your post on your blog and appreciate you linking to this post!

@Cynthia: Yes, I've tried index cards too...I had the same issues you describe...the trouble was once they were buried in a pile...they weren't as helpful.

I used to be the same way about grocery lists! That is so funny. We just had to develop 2 habits. 1) every time we run out of something, we put it on the magnetic list (It's a long post-it pad on the fridge.

2) before Grocery shopping, scan the fridge and cupboards to remind us what we all ready have. Add any items to the list, then go. This changed our lives and saved us lots of money!

@ Debbie: I used to use Planner Pads! Love them. But now I use Google Calendar and I can access my calendar from anywhere - no synching. And it automatically color codes for me and emails me reminders. I really love it now that I'm used to it.

[Marcia Francois]

I can't tell you how much I love this post - it made me think and think and then think some more.

I think I mentioned before that somehow I get a lot of creative types wanting me to help them with their time and I need to make some notes so I can help them with some more great solutions :)

As I say, you are a ROCK STAR!

[Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed.]

Awww Marcia! ...you gave me massive goosebumps!
I cannot think of a better compliment! Thank you!!!!
{{{{{{{{{{{{ hugz }}}}}}}}}}}}

[Marcia Francois]

Now I'm blushing :)

[Nicolas]

Hello,

You very nicely described a common issue with lists. I also have seen that many people spend a lot of time adding and removing routing items to their to-do lists. This might be one reason why these lists become long and difficult to handle.

I therefore suggest having checklists for routine work, which you keep separate from your to-do list. I wrote an article on the Time Management Master blog on how best use checklists.

http://memytime.wordpress.com/2008/11/09/use-checklists-for-routine-work/

[amber]

Instead of carrying an ongoing list with me, I tend to text message myself (I send the message to my home email) with random ideas and things to-do. It works great since i leave the to-be-done item unopened in my inbox until it's complete.

I realize that this will not work for some who have an overly full inbox to begin with...but I'm able to act on "real" messages, save any resources in subfolders, and use it as a to-do list at the same time :-)

[plant]

I keep a spiral notebook (9 1/2 x 6, or about a half sheet of standard sized paper, college ruled) and each day write the day and date at the top of the page. I write a list of that day's to-do's down the right side, and on the left organize that list linearly according to time, if I need to. I then use that page for making any notes from phone calls, jot down phone numbers, do planning, etc. on that page, so it's all in one place, not scattered on post-its and the backs of envelopes. I also keep a calendar. I still have a lot of time mgmt challenges, but keeping all the notes and the day's plan in one place really helps.

[Layla]

Hmm, I still have troubles with this, after reading so much on organizing etc! (Have tested as INFP/ENFP, occasionally other types, so some of this may make sense? Am also what Barbara Sher calls 'a scanner' with many interests!)

I like the idea of trying different things & giving oneself permission to just use'em as memory aids!
(I may get energized/inspired to do sth when I'm not near my lists, but elsewhere!)

I found a brilliant technique to get myself to do something: to always have 2 or 3 things I DON'T want to do, or hate even more than the thing I actually want to do. (Sounds complicated, but isn't.) Trouble is Law of Attraction can work here, and make one do the 'unwanted' stuff too!! (by necessity!) So I don't dare to do this anymore! lol!