How to Write Awesome Action Lists
- Quebec City
We all have a massive list of things to do hanging over our heads. (Or things we should be doing. Or things we wish we had time to do.)
Many people shy away from the idea of an Action List (or a "To Do" list). Seeing all those tasks in front of you can be daunting. But the devil you know is a lot easier to fight than the devil you don't. Once your problems are out in front of you, you will be able to break them down and tackle them: piece by piece. By having a step-by-step plan spelled out in front of you, it's easy to get in a groove and mechanically work through the list. You'll be amazed by how much you can get done!
WRITING THE LIST
Pull out a piece of paper and start brainstorming actions. Don't focus on what you might be forgetting, just capture everything that's "top of mind" (because that's what's bothering you right now.) With practice, you'll get better at capturing actions as they come up, and even anticipating what will need to get done.
Put EVERYTHING you need to do immediately on the paper: don't segment it into different areas of your life (personal/work/school/family)... if it has to get done by you, put it on the one list. As soon as you write down an action, think: can this be broken down further? If there's something that needs to be done BEFORE the action can be accomplished, put that on the list two as a sub-action. Before "cook dinner" you must "buy groceries" and "look up recipe for dinner."
If something comes to mind after you've written the list, DON'T drop what you're doing to work on the new task - just write it down on your list so you won't forget it. By immediately writing things down as they come to you, you're free from trying to remember everything you need to do -- your action list becomes your second brain!
CATCHING ACTION ITEMS
This is the part of the process that will require a bit of practice. Every time you take a phone call, or read an email, or sit through a meeting, focus on pulling the specific ACTIONS out of the conversation. Don't just keep the notes from your meetings: your actions need to jump out at you and be obvious. Don't make your brain work harder than it has to by re-interpreting the notes every time you're trying to figure out what to do next! SPELL IT OUT. I like to hilight actions with an icon: a big letter A in a circle. When I'm putting together my "NOW" action list, it's easy to spot the actions from among my notes!
When you finish the phone call or going through your inbox, make sure you transfer all the actions to your master list. You don't want to have to search in 20 different places to figure out what you're doing next -- keep it all together and keep your mind in the groove.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FIRST?
Now that you have a massive list to get through, it can be somewhat daunting trying to figure out where you should start. This is where I think most people get turned off from Action lists... when you have a fresh list and it's full of things "to do"... it's intimidating!
But it's easy to overcome the hurdle with a few questions. Ask yourself:
What are the actions that you can cross off with fifteen minutes of work or less?
- By quickly knocking those off the list, you'll already start to feel better and start to build some momentum.
How long will these actions take? How much time do you have?
- If you have only an hour to work away at your list before your next meeting, it will be more satisfying to knock out three 15-minute actions than half of a two-hour action.
What are the items that are really weighing you down and "hanging" over your head?
- If it's something that you dread (cleaning the bathroom drain, or calling your boss' boss to ask a question), try to psych yourself up and just get it over with. Once you get that task out of the way, will you feel a lot less guilty about working on other things on the list, and you'll get much more done without the weight of the "dreaded" task on your shoulders!
What are the items that have serious consequences if you don't finish them?
- Obviously, if it has serious consequences you should GET IT DONE NOW -- so you're free to work on whatever else you have to do!
WORKING THROUGH THE LIST
As you start working through the list, MARK OFF the actions you have finished. This might seem simple, but it's SO IMPORTANT to the success or failure of a list system.
Be BIG and BOLD with your marks. Draw a BIG GREEN CHECK next to your completed actions, or a FAT RED LINE through them. This makes you feel like you've really accomplished something (and you have!). Celebrating the small steps keeps you motivated!
Even if it is the smallest, easiest thing on the list, RELISH in crossing it off. It is off of your shoulders now, it is no longer IN YOUR HEAD getting in your way.
In digital notes, use STRIKETHROUGH instead of just adding a checkmark to a box.
DO NOT ERASE/DELETE your finished actions. At the end of the day you want to look at your sheet and focus on how much you HAVE accomplished, not how much there is still left to be done! When you come back to your list tomorrow, you'll remember how much you managed to accomplish yesterday, and this will motivate you to repeat the experience!
WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU HAVE A LOOOOOOOOOOOONG LIST?
If you find that your list is longer than one page (and you should be using small pages and big bold letters, mind you!) then you have written a LONG TERM action list. You need to turn it into a NOW action list.
Go through the "What should you do first" excercise (or check out some of our other posts on prioritizing) and pull out the TOP TEN things that you want finished FIRST.
Put those top ten things on a new sheet of paper - ONE sheet of paper. Put the other papers AWAY (in a drawer, in a binder... just not in your face!!).
As you add new actions and cross others out, your list will get close to the bottom of the page. Start fresh! Copy the remaining actions onto a new sheet of paper and draw a big diagonal line across your previous list. (You want to make sure you know that isn't the list your'e using anymore.)
If your "fresh" list is starting to get short (less than three tasks), open up that drawer and take out the LONG TERM action list you wrote first. Cross anything out that you've managed to finish. Then pull out the next ten things you want to do and rewrite them on your NOW action list.
I find the best lists are those that are about 10-15 items long. Shorter than that, and there aren't enough options. If you don't want to do item A, and you don't want to do item B, your only other option will be to procrastinate!
WHERE SHOULD YOU KEEP YOUR ACTION LIST?
Your action list will only be effective if it is:
- WITH YOU at all times
- IN YOUR FACE
- ACCESSIBLE
This means that it shouldn't be on a random scrap piece of paper that can (and probably will) get lost! Put it in a binder or (better) in a book or other type of system.
Future posts will discuss different systems and tools you can use to track your actions, but some of the ones that I use/have used are Dayplanners, Outlook Tasks, Microsoft OneNote, Logbooks and Little Books.
The list should be IN YOUR FACE, meaning RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU - do NOT close the book or the note file, do not put your NOW action list in a drawer!! Don't keep actions on a whiteboard in your bedroom... unless you spend your ENTIRE DAY in the bedroom! I usually keep my list open just to the left of my active workspace.
Digital versus Analog: I am a big fan of hand-written lists. A piece of paper does not have to be booted up, it can't be minimized or deleted. The batteries can't die, and you don't have to fiddle around with menus to find your list. And applying strikethrough to a bullet isn't quite as satisfying as really digging the pen into the paper and scratching that action out. An analog list can easily be carried with you, wherever you go. I do use digital lists for longer-term actions and brainstorming, but for my day to day, I recommend going low-tech.
REVIEWING YOUR ACTION LIST
Review your list of actions first thing every morning and use it (with your calendar) to plan your day. Visualize what you want to accomplish.
When you're bored, or stalling, or procrastinating, review your action list and try to break down the actions a bit farther.
If you're stressed out and you feel like there is so much to do, take a few moments to actually list the actions you need to take to survive or resolve the situation. When you start to make progress on that list, you'll start to feel better.
Remember: The action list does not rule you, YOU RULE THE LIST. The list is helping you kick butt and get a ton of work off your plate and out of your way. YOU choose what goes on the list. YOU choose what to finish next.
Now GO, GET THINGS DONE!