How Often Should To-Do Lists Be Created?

How often you create to-do lists is ultimately up to you and what works best for you. To-do lists are created to help us stay organized and to know exactly what we need to get done.

But how often should to-do lists be created to help you be the most productive?

We write what needs to get done so that we stay on track. Plus, there is nothing better than the feeling of checking off that box or crossing it off the list once something has been completed.

Even one item marked off the list can be a huge relief. Plus it will give you the momentum to tackle the rest of the items on your to do list.

However, writing too many things on the list may make you start to feel overwhelmed with the tasks for the day.

How Often Should To-Do Lists Be Created?

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How often do you write to-do lists now?

This might be the first question you should ask yourself when seeing how often a to-do list should be created. How often are you currently making a to-do list? Do you have just one that keeps on getting longer by the day or do you break it up and write a new one daily?

Is the way you are doing it now working or do you find that it needs some fine-tuning so that those items on your to-do list are getting done?

If what you have is not really working all that well, let’s go into some different options you may have. To get started with that, we will go over the most common types of to-do lists and their pros and cons.

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Daily or Weekly To-Do Lists

Daily to-do lists are great because you get a fresh start each day and you can be prepared for what needs to be done. Typically, a daily to-do list starts with a list of things that need to be done that day and that day only.

As you go throughout the day, each task you get done gets marked off, and the lists starts over the next day. You can add the unfinished tasks to the next day if you want.

Weekly to-do lists work the same way, but instead of daily tasks, you break it up into weekly tasks that need to get finished.

Categorical To-Do Lists

Categorical to-do lists are broken up by category so that you can stay focused on just one “section” at a time. For instance, you could have a to-do list for home repairs, one for errands, and another one for work related tasks that need to be done.

Some like to put their categorical lists under a master to-do list along with their due dates for reference.

These really don’t seem to be the most popular to-do lists, simply because you end up with tons of different lists on sticky notes that have the possibility of getting lost. However, if you find that you need lists that are broken down into different categories or sections to be more productive, then this setup may be a good option for you.

The Running To-Do List

The running to-do list is that list that just keeps getting things added to it. It does not matter the day or the category, it is just a continuing list of things that need to be done. Many people also consider this the “honey-do list” because it literally lists every little thing that you want to get done, no matter what the time frame.

This is the type of list that could get very long and before you know it, it could become quite daunting and pushed to the side!

As you can see, to answer the question on how often should to-do lists be created, it is important to find out what works best for you and helps you to be more productive.

Do you find that it works better if you start with a fresh slate each day or week? Is having one long running list of tasks too overwhelming?