To-do list writing - thanks @mada_c for the request!

So I started writing this ages ago but I kept learning and doing new things that improved my "to-do list process" that I wanted to make sure I shared. In the end, that made for a long blog entry but I hope you get a chance to look through this and know that I've shared EVERYTHING with you now. Every step I take each and every day is here.

I must admit that most everything I've learned about to-do lists, I've learned from Chalene Johnson. For a free audio clip of her talking about how to make to-do lists, please go to www.chalenejohnson.com/gift . (And if you love that, check out her audio series, Car Smart...it's literally changing my life!). You should also check out her FREE program that starts at the beginning of each month. For 30 days, she'll change your life one step at a time. To check it out, go to http://www.30daypush.com/ and sign up.

I learned a lot of things from her program but as with anything you learn, you have to tailor it to fit your personal style and way doing things. So, with huge props and thanks to the many lessons I've been forunate enough to learn from Chalene, here is how I make it happen in my way. I hope this inspires you to make things happen for you too and I can't wait to hear your success stories!

Step 1: Gotta start with priorities

If you don't know what is important to you and you dont have it some placewhere you will see your goals listed every day, then making choices and setting aside time for the right things will get a whole lot more difficult. The key to this activity isn't just to think about your priorities or to right them down but to repeat this process often. Your priorities will change. You may have a child, start a new relationship, get married, start a new job, start training for a new race...all of these things and more can impact your priorities and by reviewing them, you'll be sure that your goals and tasks are in line with this!

Step 2: BIG goals

For me, this was the best step - time to dream big!! What 10 goals would you like to acheieve within the next year or so? I listed things that may even take a couple years to achieve but I know I need to start working on them now. Put those on paper and again, like your priorities, repeat this activity often. I have a notebook dedicated just to these goals and the steps I'm going to take to achieve them. I have time in my calendar blocked off every Sunday evening before the week starts to think about these big goals. I like making sure that they're still realistic and still want is most important to me. I doubt each week that they'll change dramatically in a mere 7 days but I do tweak them and they do change. Plus, reviewing these goals, picturing them, - this activity keeps these goals and dreams alive for me and I remember why I'm making the most of each day possible!

Side note: up to this point, while computers, smart phones, and tablets are great, I tend to take pencil to paper on listing my priorities and biggest goals. There's something about writing them out that makes them more real and important. We all type emails, texts, tweets, and facebook statuses all day. Don't our priorities and goals deserve a different treatment than those activities? Besides, pencil and paper means that you'll be less likely to get distracted by that tab that suddenly shows you have 3 facebook updates or the light displaying a new text!

Step 3: Brainstorm

Again, I recommend paper to pencil on this one...lots of paper. With your goals in front of you, grab a notepad and start thinking of every little thing you need to do to achieve your big goals. They may not be in order. They may not all need to happen in the end. But take some time to write every little thing. For example, one of my goals for the next 2-3 years (timeline is still changing as I do more research) is to become an APD for Powder Blue Productions. As I thought about that goal, I realized a liteny of items that I need to do before that can happen and onto my list went things like: sign up for HHH training, sign up for PiYo training, order all three Going for Gold DVDs, set up a study schedule / routine with Going for Gold DVDs, sign up for All Star Presenter Camp, attend each Do More Camp between now and getting invited to APD auditions, start teaching classes of all three formats, get instructor insurance, talk to other APDs for their tips and advice...the list went on and on for a while. The other thing I found I had to do was keep my list handy for a while after I started thinking about these goals. It has been shown that the brain will do it's best work when you're not so stressed and focused on the task at hand. That's why we can never remember the name of that guy in that movie who played opposite that girl that one time while having a conversation with a friend but at 2 am we wake up suddenly feeling dumb for not remembering earlier that it was Tom Hanks who played opposite Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle. I also take time to do this as I review my goals each Sunday evening. I reread the task list and add any items to it as they come to mind. This list becomes the foundation for Step 4.

Step 4: Your daily to-do list!!

Whether you break up 18-21 items over six or seven days each Sunday or pick three items from you list each morning, make sure you have at least three things on your to-do list each day that will help you achieve your big goals. Keep your to-do list somewhere you can see it and make this activity each morning a part of your routine. I have a half hour each morning after my workout but before I get ready for work dedicated to this activity. I sit in front of my laptop and using Toodledo (which links to an app on my phone), I make sure that I have those three items on my list before filling up my day. I also take my massive list of all the things I've brainstormed and load them onto Toodledo. They may not have due dates yet or all the information I need but this way as I review my things to do each day, I can look over the tasks without deadlines and make sure that I'm pulling from that list instead of creating new work for myself.

Step 5: EVERYTHING goes on my list

Even if it's just an errand or a 2 minute phone call, each task takes time so each task I have to do in a day goes on my list. This is why a quick look at my to-do list for the day might read "bananas, sign up for HHH training, sort and flag emails, drop off dry cleaning, do the dishes, workout, cereal, sort coupons" for one day. While dropping off the dry cleaning isn't going to get me one step closer to being Powder Blue's next top presenter, it is something I have to get done today. By putting it on my list, I remove that nagging thought "Don't forget to drop off the dry cleaning and do the dishes tonight!" from my mind, put it on my list, and then the stress and distraction of that nagging is gone! It's amazing!

Other things I do that help but aren't really a "step":

- Thanks to Toodledo and my phone app, I can sort by "context" or which I use to show where i have to be to get the task done. That way, when I'm at work I can look at WORK tasks that must be done TODAY. That helps keep me from getting distracted by errands, home, and phone tasks that I'll address later. Then when I go run errands, I'll switch to that context and focus there.

- I like an app that syncs to a website so if I lose my phone it's backed up...plus it's easier to type and organize on the computer. This is just my experience though! See what works best for you and go from there. It might take some trial and error but once you find the method that works for you, it's alllll worth it!

- The apps I use:
http://www.toodledo.com/ (on the computer)
http://www.taskjot.com/ (on my phone)

The view on my computer of my to-do list Tuesday morning.

The screenshot on my phone of the same to-do list (which didn't show the completed items...).

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions or any other ideas or flair for writing to-do lists and achieving your goals! I always love hearing new ideas!!