Ditch Your To-do List: How To Prioritize Effectively

Time management skills should be taught to every kid in every school, everywhere in the world. Honestly, I wish I was taught this skill in class.

Over the years, I’ve met many professionals who struggle to get things done. A lot of these people are not lazy — they simply don’t organize their time well enough to get work done effectively.

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you have a huge number of things to do, so you write down all those different tasks into a huge to-do list… or many to-do lists. Then you pick the things which are cool — the things you actually enjoy doing — while the most daunting task continues to linger somewhere on the ever-expanding to-do list. It’s not rare that the most daunting tasks also happen to be the most important ones, but you still push them back until the very last minute. You’re not alone in this struggle.

One of the best changes I’ve made to improve my own time management was throwing out my to-do lists. Actually, not just the to-do lists, but the whole concept of to-do lists. True story: I don’t write to-do lists anymore, and I haven’t for some time. Instead, I have started to use my calendar for more than just scheduling meetings. I block out time and set specific tasks I need to accomplish — could be some meetings, could be getting actual work done. 30 minutes to review a commercial contract. 20 minutes to comment on a case study the marketing team put together. And so on. The calendar fills up quickly, but that’s okay: each task conveniently comes with its own time-slot.

Another change I’ve made over the years is that I’ve stopped trying to multitask. My younger self would freak out if he were reading this, but once I start working on a task, I get it done — and only then move on to the next thing. One task at a time. No more multitasking for me; it’s one task at a time.

So, what’s the right calendar tool for the right job here? Honestly, I don’t believe it matters. What matters is forming the habit of blocking time for activities and developing the discipline to execute when those activities pop up in your calendar.

When should you plan today’s activities? Well, ideally, yesterday. Prioritizing your activities is super-important too, and this should not be based on whether you like doing one thing more than something else. If you’re struggling to prioritize your tasks, then just do the thing you least want to do that day first.

Once you start assigning slots of time to specific tasks and establishing your routines, you’ll find that before long each day will seem less chaotic. Deadlines won’t sneak up on you, and the complex tasks that pop up will feel more manageable. That voice in your head will say with confidence, “You got this!” And you know what? It’ll be true.

Okay, now I invite you to throw away your to-do list, and start blocking slots in your calendar — one task at a time.

Milovan Milic Founder & CEO at Devtech