make 3 lists

I always stress the importance of writing things down. When you write things down, it frees your mind for more big-picture thinking and you don't have to worry about the details.

That said, these are the 3 lists you absolutely must use to manage your time effectively:

1. Master list

This is a place for a "brain dump", a place for ideas you might want to pursue in the future or possible projects you need to tackle. You can work off one master list for months.

This could be business goals, house or yard projects, vacation ideas, etc. You can always continue to add more to this list…even if they are a long way off in the future. The important thing is that you have it written down so your brain doesn’t need to waste time remember it.

2. To-do list

This list can be monthly, weekly or daily. The difference between this list and the master list is that this one has a time deadline to it.

I have a monthly to-do list - with broad goals like go to the gym 10 - 12 times and then my daily to-do list which lists in detail, everything I need to do that day.

3. Checklist

This is a place with a list of items which you check off.

This list is ideal for anything you need to do regularly, like a list of weekly cleaning tasks, office supplies, routine business tasks, etc. I have a list in my spiral notebook of the steps to back up my files so I thought about it properly once and now I just follow my checklist.

Once you start using the right list for the right task, you'll be flying!

For more organizing ideas, visit my website: www.andreadekker.com