10 Simple Ways to Make Better To-Do Lists

How effective is your to-do list? Does it help you plan your day and nudge you to prioritize the right tasks? Or is it a never-ending inventory of tasks you feel guilty for not having done yet, and now you’re not going to do any of them? A good to-do list should serve you. You should not be at its mercy.

- JILL DUFFY

A practical to-do list sets you off in the right direction each day and helps you focus on the tasks that are most important to you. With the right strategies, a to-do list can help you achieve larger goals, too. Here’s what you need to know to make your to-do list work for you.

1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT APP (OR PAPER)

The first step in making a better to-do list is deciding where to keep it. You could certainly create one in a to-do list app, but there’s nothing wrong with paper, if it works for you! A simple spreadsheet or word processing document is fine, too.

Apps for keeping to-do lists have several advantages over paper, however, and it’s good to at least know what they are:

• Apps have built-in reminders.

• It’s easier to edit a digital list than one written in ink.

• You can’t lose a digital list that’s saved to the cloud.

• Apps let you quickly change the view of your tasks to sort them by priority, by due date, or alphabetically.

• Digital to-do lists can be collaborative, meaning you can assign tasks to other people and get notified when they complete them.

• Some to-do list apps include features that might motivate you, such as a beautiful design or a gamification element.

There are many to-do list apps to choose from. You could lose an entire day exploring all the options. I’ve tested dozens of them, and the ones I recommend most are Todoist, Asana, and Things.