Why I'd Rather Lose My Phone Than My To-Do List

In this series, professionals share their secrets to being more productive. 

I think I have read most every book on being more productive. (Full disclosure: I even wrote one of them.) I also think there is definitely a market for a book on how to most efficiently read all the books on productivity without it impeding what you really need to get done, but I digress...

First of all, while I think there is one elegant, scalable solution everyone should try, I also would recommend test-driving a few different approaches that others will be offering in this special LinkedIn Series on productivity hacks.

I am a big fan and collector of such hacks. I try many of them on for size and incorporate or tweak those that I find a beneficial fit into my approach. I also curate all of those that I like and I share them here; please feel free to browse: 

 I have over 200 now, and it's growing every week. 

As for my best hack…?

 A list.

 Yup, that’s it. Now it’s not just any list, nor is it just one list. But don’t fear it is not a complicated list. Allow me to explain.

In undergrad, I used a calendar and its “notes” section. In grad school, that evolved to a variation of a week-at-a-glance, augmented with some sticky-notes or scraps of paper reminders.

Once I was out of school, I used to use a small college spiral-bound notebook and each line had some task that needed my attention. (Remember this is pre-smart phone or digital tools.)

We like lists because we don't want to die — Umberto Eco

But today, in spite of the myriad of apps and abundance of the tools, my favorite remains a list on paper written in pen, but with some rules.

RULE #1: Use one page for the relevant areas in your life. That is, only if there is a good reason to make a mash-up item, work should be work, and non-work should be non-work. Of course this can be subdivided and customized. And of course, you can split up projects if that is what your work is like. For me, I have one for work, one for the upcoming weekend or any trip, one for each larger project that has multiple aspects to get done, and finally one that is a general idea collector that may be home to random thoughts to follow up on at a yet undetermined future time. There is no rule or limit as to how many pages you can have.

Personally, I like yellow college-ruled paper — it doesn’t get mixed up with printouts or reprinted articles that I often have in my folders with my list(s). I make it into two column pages via two light vertical lines I draw in because otherwise it would overflow beyond one page and waste space.

RULE #2: Parse and prioritize your items. I briefly write in a task with black ink and put a dash to the left of it in my penciled-in margin line. I circle the dash for priority tasks that I want to accomplish on any given day or two, and put a red arrow in front of the circle for the super-priorities for that day. If there are a number of super-priorities on a given day or project, then I will assign rank order numbers to them. Once accomplished, a very satisfying check mark goes through the dash and makes it cognitively invisible to me. If the page gets full before everything gets done, I simply make a fresh, new page and transpose what was left from the prior list over to the now new one. Easy-peasy.

RULE #3: Always fiddle with your use of your list to make it better. For some this may be done via a ton digital tools that are available (see my curated examples above). For others it may be an integration with various platforms (calendars, trackers, motivators, etc.). Do feel free to automate at will.

RULE #4: Periodically make a copy. This is the old school way to make a backup. To me, other than losing a digital file, I’d almost rather lose my phone or wallet than my list. If done properly, it is your guiding light, your compass, your raison d'être, so don’t lose it.

RULE #5: This isn’t per se a rule, but I have found that every so often, I am intimidated by a daunting project of some sort. So, I start working on some smaller, “easy wins” that are on my list. In some ways this helps me gather up stream and momentum to tackle the bigger job. I suppose you could consider it procrastinating from the big job, but nevertheless, you are checking things off your list that needed doing anyway. Productive procrastination. Nice.

RULE #6: Do you really want to put it on your list? Just because you have a list, don’t feel like you have to fill it up just to check things off. Your productivity can be highly enhanced by saying “no thank you” to some gigs and tasks that may actually be optional and/or unnecessary for you. Or perhaps you may be able to delegate to someone else’s list.

 But does it work?

Well, all I can say is that it has for me. I also have a Life List that is the aggregation of both important things I have wanted to do (and accomplished) and the ones I still want to do: 

I believe the key is to develop a list that you make work for your needs and engage in a never ending tweak-fest of refinement. You can forget about being productive; your list will do it for you. Nothing is forgotten once it's on your list. No panicking. The idea is to make being productive a seamless, automatic habit, and I think an elegant list is the best power-tool for the job — simple, satisfying, and no fear of forgetting something or missing a deadline.

Please share some of your favorites here below, and if a website, I’ll add to my collection.

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If you liked this article, you may also like:

Cool Tools for Productivity

Productivity Hacks: Have Impossible To-Do Lists

What Inspires Me: Blueprinting A Life in Full

What Happens When Pursuing Your Goals Goes Wrong (And What To Do About It)

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