How Do I Make My To Do Lists?
When I started researching how people kept their shit together starting out in businesses similar to mine, I noticed that many of them used block scheduling. This means that, for example, from 9am-10am they answer emails, from 10-11 they create content, etc. This method of organization works well for many, but I just can't stick to that kind of schedule. I have to prioritize, not think about time. For this reason, I have three To Do lists and those are broken down into different sections.
Daily Tasks
Every morning, I get into the office, make some coffee, peel a banana, and hunker down to do the boring stuff. This is usually checking my content calendars, checking my boss's calendar for the day to see if I have to sit in on any meetings, check all of the social media, do the analytics for each account, check the company blog, and sort through the hundreds of emails my ever-so-popular boss accumulates on the daily. These are the constant and ongoing tasks that are easy and don't require a lot of effort, which means I can go on autopilot while I get adjusted.
Listing Tasks
My list of listing tasks is what I do any time there is a new listing in the office. I can't tell you what's on it... It's one of my secrets. Sorry! I can tell you that having a list laid out for each aspect is incredibly helpful, and allows you to just chug through as efficiently as possible.
To Do
My more specific To Do list is broken down into three sections - Priority, This Week, and After the Craziness. Priority is obviously what needs to be taken care of immediately. This Week is also pretty self explanatory - stuff that needs to get done during the week but isn't quite as important. After the Craziness is made up of tasks that can get done whenever there's time. I don't keep any details on these lists, or they will just be massive and overwhelming to look at. I keep the details for each task in a separate notebook that I can refer back to whenever I'm working on a specific task.
While this is a good guideline for what order to tackle everything in, it's still nice to take a break from the first two lists and work on other stuff, just so you don't get overloaded.
Sharing is Caring
If you have any thoughts or feedback or extra knowledge, share it in the comments. The whole point of this blog is to help each other figure it all out!
