Blog

Getting into the habit of writing out your agenda for the day, week, or month can make a huge difference in your productivity, along with offering several other benefits. Not only can you get more done by jotting down your intended tasks, you’ll probably feel more motivated and in control through this simple act. This small practice has the potential to provide you with big rewards. Check out these ways creating a daily to-do list is a “must-have habit.”

Free Your Mind

Writing down all the things you have to do can actually increase your brain’s efficiency. It works because getting information down on paper clears space and allows your brain to process more important information more productively. When you’ve got too many things running through your mind, it’s difficult for your brain’s circuitry to process. The simple act of writing things down and prioritizing them gets this extraneous information out of the way, making it easier to deal with everything else.

Prioritize What Matters

When you don’t write down your to-do list, you’ve got all this information clogging up your neural pathways. Getting it out not only lets you free up that space for more efficient use, it also lets you see what it is you need to do. You have a visual representation of the tasks at hand, which you can then organize and prioritize so that you have a better chance of getting them accomplished.

Make It More Manageable

Just writing your to-do list alone helps to make things more manageable. You no longer have to store that information and hold onto it in your head, hoping you’ll be able to remember it and manage it in a timely manner. Your list is a tangible tool that simply makes getting things done easier.

Provide Evidence

Have you ever wondered where your day has gone and how it is you’ve managed to accomplish nothing? Chances are, you probably did get some things done. However, it can be difficult to know for sure unless you’re keeping track. Your to-do list allows you to do just that. You can check things off as you accomplish them, providing you with tangible evidence of the progress you’ve made. Even if you don’t finish everything on your list, you’ll feel better knowing you’ve made a dent.

Get More Done

Finally, all these benefits combine in a way that lets you get more done. You’ll be more productive with a to-do list than without one. This is a simple tool that has survived for centuries due to its pure usefulness.

Don’t let the idea of keeping a to-do list intimidate you. Chances are good you’ll accomplish more with a list than without one. You don’t have to complete everything all at once. That’s the beauty of a list. It can be revised and revisited as necessary. What it gives you is structure and a plan for getting more done. This is one habit that’s easy to implement and provides so many benefits. Give it a try.