How to Make a Super Effective To-Do List

Sup guys. Happy Valentine's Day!! If you're a lover, I hope you're having a lovely day/night. If you're single, do not watch any Nicholas Sparks movies. Trust me. It's a mistake. 

Anyways, let's get going. In case you haven't noticed, I'm obsessed with planning and organizing and making lists and scheduling and planning. I'm very analytical minded. I'm also a student, I have a job + a blog (surprise!). And of course, what happens when you mix that? An insatiable lust for to-do lists. Yes. I make about six a day on average. So basically, I'm an expert.

You might make to-do lists + hopefully, they help you get stuff done. BUT, I thought I'd share a couple of the things I've learned that can help you karate chop your way through that list.

Write out everything.

Some people definitely disagree with this one, so feel free to ignore it. But when I make my to-do list every day, I write down absolutely everything I have to do. That includes brushing my teeth (or at least 'morning routine'), eating lunch, and exercising. Just because it's on the to-do list doesn't mean it's work, it just means I'm planning time for it in my day. BUT notice I said write down the things you have to do. Not everything you 'could do.' Keep it simple so that you don't get overwhelmed by the sheer number of things on your to-do list. 

Choose concrete tasks.

Okay, you've heard this. Don't say 'work on design project'. Try writing 'insert picture from email + design border for the hello blurb' or something applicable to what you do. Make your tasks small + manageable too. Instead of 'clean the house', try 'take out the trash, wipe down kitchen counters + pick up clothes on bedroom floor.' Cleaning the house sounds scary but anyone can do those three little tasks!

Prioritize your tasks.

The second thing I do is prioritize all of my tasks by how important they are. The things with the soonest deadline are first and the last things are the items that I want to work on + should work on but that there will be no tangible consequence if I don't (i.e. I won't get fired). I just write a circled number next to each task; it only takes a minute. This helps me make sure that my most important tasks (sometimes called MITs or MVTs if you read productivity blogs) get done before the marginal things.

Set time goals.

Look at each item. If it's something you're going to want to do for awhile or might get caught up in (aka catch up on blog reading or emailing), set a time limit for, say, 30 minutes. You can even plan to have two chunks of 30 minutes at different times of the day. 

Then, see if you have any items that are time-based that you need a goal length of time. For me, that might be reading for a class. I don't technically have to do it, so if I don't have a goal, yeah I'm stopping after fifteen minutes so I can retreat to Netflix. For items like this, set a goal time (such as 30 minutes). For every other item, just write an estimated amount of time. This will help you be realistic about how much time you have in a day + how much you can get done. 

Plan out your day.

Our your afternoon or lunch break or whatever. Think about how much time you have and how much of that time you can actually work. Pick items, based on your priorities, until you have enough goal tasks to fill up your day. I like to start with something productive but relatively quick. If I have just a small piece of a design left for a client, I'll do it right off the bat. By starting off my day getting something done, I've set my pace for the rest of the day. When I'm planning out my day, I like to write out each of my tasks in order + create a loose time schedule to my day. My schedules are fluid (which is why I change them about six times a day haha) but they can still keep me on track.

Plan space into your day.

I've been working with this system for maybe a year now, so I know pretty well how long everything takes me. I cushion 5-10 minutes in between every task in case is takes longer than I expect or I run into some other roadblock. Also, every few hours, I plan 20-30 minutes that is meant for a real break. Walking around, talking to people, and getting outside are all great ways to take a mini-break + refresh yourself for finishing your to-do list. 

To-do lists: love 'em or leave 'em? Do you have a method for getting things done?

How I Use My Daily Checklist

Happy Hump Dayyy! Yeah, I'm never saying that again, ever, in my life. I don't even know why I said that....Allie, you freak.

Anyways, I hope your week has been going swimmingly so far! Since a few of you asked about my new checklist system in the comments, I thought I'd share a bit more about it today and how it works for me. 

I'm the kind of person that is very motivated by lists, checklists, timers, etc. Like I'm kind of incapable of getting anything done unless it's on a list and I can cross it off. So that's both good and bad, because what if I get stranded somewhere without my phone and/or paper and need to get something done? Okay, I'm kidding. But I do really like knowing the way my mind works and how to motivate myself when I need to. 

So I thought I'd capitalize on this little piece of Allie-info and use it to help me accomplish those little goals that are in the back of my head. I created a checklist to help me get done the basics everyday. I'm trying to get in the habit of brushing my teeth three times a day instead of two and flossing and using mouthwash every single day.  Come on, you know you don't either. 

In addition, I like to measure my time in Pomodoros (which, if you're not familiar, are basically 25 minute segments of time). I set a goal number of Pomodoros for cleaning, studying or generally having fun each day. Then, I have space to record my exercise + if I log it on Fitocracy (a sort of workout social media), the points my workout was worth. Lastly, I record what time I go to bed. That's about it! Here you can see mine (click to see it bigger):

I plan on making a 'fill-in-the-blank" style checklist for all your list-motivated people to download in the coming weeks. Maybe it'll help you get stuff done too! 

What kinds of goals would you put on a daily checklist?

And now let's get nerdy with a science bit! Today, we're going to talk about why plants grow towards sunlight. I'll admit, it sounds like a stupid middle school science fair project, but I think plant hormones and stuff like that are pretty interesting!

The official fancy-schmancy scientist name for "plants growing towards light" is phototropism. The very tip of a plant is called a coleoptile [koh-lee-up-tile]. In the coleoptile, plants hold a hormone that makes the shoots plant grow called auxin. So if you have a plant sitting next to the window, sunlight will hit one side of the coleoptile. The auxin on that side will either break down or move to the other side of the plant. If there's no auxin on one side of the coleoptile, that side of the plant won't grow or will grow less. Meanwhile, the other side (the shady side) of the plant has all of its auxin and a little extra. So that side will be growing faster than the sunny side, causing the curvature.

Isn't that cool?! Okay I'm done. Have a great day y'all!

4 Ways to Have a Productive Day Off

You know how all over Pinterest there's that quote that says something like "Beyonce has the same number of hours in the day as you do"? Yeah, this post is inspired by that. This goes out to you, Beyonce. 

So there are two kinds of days off. Number one: you wake up at 8 am, think 'ehh I should get up.' Nope, you go back to bed. Wake up at 10 or 11. Roll out of bed. Do nothing. Shower at 1. Eat leftovers for breakfast (lunch?). Proceed to watch TV/do nothing for the rest of the day. Number two: you get up early, shower right away and proceed into a Beyonce worthy day. 

Have you ever noticed that there's rarely an "in-between" kind of day off? At least in my life, I find that either I have a super productive day, or I get nothing done at all. Sometimes you need those kinds of days. But I've made it my mission to make those days on-purpose-only. 

In my quest for having a more productive Saturday (or any other day off, like this past Monday), I have basically found the secrets of the universe. And I'm going to share them with you. You are welcome.

#1: Start right. 

Okay, okay, I know it's a total buzzkill but set an alarm to wake you up in the morning. Seriously! I'm not saying you need to get up at the crack of dawn. Try eight o'clock. Even nine o'clock is better than ten or eleven. Shower immediately when you get up (if you're a morning showerer). Get dressed, even if it's yoga pants or leggings. If you act like you're getting ready for the day, then you'll end up having a day worth getting ready for.

#2: Set your goals early.

I actually like to do this in bed (mostly because I can buy myself a few more minutes in bed while pretending to be productive). But I set one big goal for the day that might take 60-90 minutes. Then I'll set three small but important goals for the day that I really want to get done today. Then I'll add on a couple other things that I want to get done, but are lower priority.

#3: Get right to "work".

Pick one of your top four items for the day and get right to work on it. Hopefully, getting up early and right to work will excite you and motivate you for at least a few hours. I've heard otherwise, especially from people who are more productive at night, but this works for me. I use an app called "Hustle" which is basically a timed to-do list. I set enough work/chores to last me about four hours on my days off. I'll put each item into my Hustle list along with how much time it should take me to do it. Then, my goal is to be done by lunch!

#4: Motivate yourself with relaxation or fun activities.

Even though we're being productive here, don't forget that this is your day off! Watch some television over lunch! Take a nap (yes!). Go shopping! Don't forget to let your day off be a time of rejuvenation. BUT, use those fun activities (or lack of activities--hello naptime!) as motivation. Get your house clean + little to-dos done so that you can really enjoy your day off. 

It seems like you could have the most relaxing day off by just skipping the to-do list altogether and watching Netflix all day, right? Well like I said, sometimes we do need those days. But I've found that the more I get done early, the more I feel I deserve my relaxation or fun time. And that means that when I choose to do fun things, I don't feel guilty and I can really enjoy my day off!

How do you have a productive day off? Do you do any of these things?