I like a good system. As I’ve mentioned before, I am an INFJ and we have a nasty habit of getting lost in the search for the perfect system – I fight against that all the time.
One real system-seeking situation for me is my To Do list. I’ve tried all kinds of systems, paper and electronic but until recently I haven’t been able to find one that lets me keep a good running list and a flexible daily list*. (And as a juggler of kids, freelancing and volunteer work, I need flexibility)
One thing that does work for me, though, is my whiteboard.
Last fall I picked up a cheap 8×10 white board at the dollar store and put it up next to my calendar in my kitchen where it would be easily visible. Now, whenever I have a busy day or something that REALLY needs to get done I put a list on the whiteboard where I can see it (and so can the rest of my family) and it creates a sense of urgency about those tasks.
When I’m really organized and I’ve taken the time to plan my week’s To Do on a piece of paper (or on the websites listed below) I can pick the things to do each day from that but often my list is composed by looking around at housework and other tasks as yet undone, and by wracking my brain for details on work and the like.
The board is fairly small so I can’t really add too many tasks (and I put a time limit on any large ones – work on article 30m – so they are something I can measure, take action on and cross off). And the funny thing is that the kids respect the white board, they ask me to put things for them on there (‘I’d like to play videogames this afternoon, can you put that on the list?’ ‘I’d like to have pizza for supper, can you put that on the list?’) because they know that the stuff on there gets done.
If something odd comes up, and I can’t get a job done, I can erase the other tasks and leave that one for the next day without feeling weird about it.
All hail the whiteboard!
What do you use for a To Do list? Have you used a whiteboard? Did it help?
*I’m currently having good luck with Pocket Informant on my iPod Touch – I’m using in it in conjunction with Google Calendar and Toodledo so I can add things using my desktop computer and then check it on the Touch.
