3 Lists you need to keep every day to increase productivity

Everyone desires to improve daily productivity, to master each day of the week, to feel accomplished, and to have personal goals achieved. It’s not an easy task. It requires determination, persistence and discipline.

I am going to share three lists that you need to keep and help you to improve your performance and productivity.

1. To-do list

We were taught to make this list since our lower grade school. I still remember trying out my first hour-by-hour schedule to help me get things done. It wasn’t my thing. I went through the same in high school, in the university and I still do it today. I rely on a daily to-do list to get my things done, ranked by priority and the number of hours each task should take. This list entails all major activities to make, all communications to make; text, email and calls and all small tasks for the day.
get-something-done
An effective to-do list should be;
a) Simple, short and clear. It should not have more than three major things/activities for a given day.

If you could do one major thing that will move your life or business to the next level, what would it be?

b) Written a night before. This helps you to start your day with clarity. It gives you a reason to wake up the following morning knowing what you are waking up to do. simple and should include the tasks that will make you most accomplished after accomplishing them.

Now that you’ve effectively prioritized your day, tackle the biggest and most important task in the morning. This should be done before checking emails, texts, or making phone calls.

The main aim of a to-do list is to help you to ensure you are focusing on the right areas and improve your productivity in a less stressful way. Once you keep your to-do list, you will overcome procrastination and discover so much about yourself.

2. Won’t do list

Won’t-do list? Yes! Maybe you are hearing this for the first time. All our lives we have been taught how to write and follow a to-do list, but there are some addictions that prevent us from doing what we have planned to do.
Maybe you are obsessed with social media, chatting, watching movies and series, or hanging out with your buddies. These activities often distract us from our daily activities and from following our to-do list. The best way to avoid this is to list down all the things you will not do in the day being honest with yourself.

3. I did list

Many people make a to-do list. I do that also. And it feels great every time you finish something and feel a sense of accomplishment. Some make a short to-do list, finish in the morning and enjoy the rest of the day.
Accomplishment releases addictive chemicals like Dopamine, Endorphin in the brain that makes you feel better. But the tragedy come when you put many things on the to-do list and at the end of the day only few have been accomplished. You feel bad about yourself, wasted. But that doesn’t mean you did nothing, some tasks were accomplished. That’s why you need to write an I did list, a list of all the tasks you accomplished during the day. Not the big things only, make a note of everything especially the small stuff you did whether you think it was useful or effective doesn’t matter.
You’ll be surprised at what you see. You will discover that you have hidden hours in your day that are secreting away from your own purposes.
The importance of this list is to help you discover where you lose your time and when. It will also help you to discover some talents and abilities you have that you didn’t know and also give you a reason to celebrate your day.
If you keep all these three lists on a daily basis, you will increase your productivity and become one of the top experts in the world. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comment box below.