MQResource

 Making Lists

 
Last week I talked about Creative Discipline. Personally, I would have no discipline in anything without lists. As a professional project manager, my entire work day is built around lists and schedules. I think it's part of my DNA that I need to have a list because I have them for my home life too. For this article I decided to look around the web for advice and resources on list making. Even veteran list makers are always looking for the perfect list process or tool!

Lost Glove Found wrote a nice blog post about why she keeps lists and she talks about the act of list-making giving her a buzz. Now, as much as I love making lists, they don't actually give me a buzz but they are a way to clear my mind and focus. If something is on the list for tomorrow then I don't have to worry about it today.

There are blogs on every subject, so of course there is one that celebrates lists - all kinds of lists.

Here are some resources for making your own lists work better for you:

• From a Harvard Business Review blog post
• This article highlights several online list making tools
• Mind Tools has an article and to-do list template to help you make effective lists
• This article from Online Organizing has a lot of tips and reasons for keeping to do lists
• EHow also has tips for making effective lists and an article about how to prioritize using to do lists
• One last article from Productivity Pro

Got the idea? If you need some help getting started, take a look at some of these sites:

• Top Ten Lists - Life, On a Short List
• Ultimate Top 10 Lists

If you think your to do list has gotten out of hand, just be glad that you don't have Obama's To Do List.

I'll have a companion article on the 3 Creative Studios blog talking specifically about how I use to do lists. But join us in the forum and let us know how you use and keep to do lists. If you don't use them, why and what do you do instead?

Vicki Welsh
Three Creative Studios

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