How to Make the Most of Your To-Do List

The Uber Organizer

Gently described as type A personalities, these women’s to-do lists are often perfected in their day planners and look as insanely organized as every other area in their life: color–coded, neatly tabbed, and precisely filed away. “Organizing is part of their DNA,” Coker explains. “Making the list look good is what makes them feel totally together.”

Make the Most of Your Method

Since uber organizers feel most in control when they make their list, they’re more likely to transfer their to-dos from one day to the next without crossing off items, Steel says. Take a look at what’s being recycled from one list to the next; those items are likely too broad or challenging. “The part of our brain that helps us get motivated responds best to tasks that are specific and immediate,” he says. To ensure your to-dos become already-done’s, revise your list to make it more detailed and time-sensitive, from “Finish report” and “Write 300 words by noon,” to “Clean out garage” and “Clean out two boxes after lunch.” And to keep crossing things off, add in one or two fun items  per day, such as “Watch TV for one hour” or “Get manicure,” he suggests. Adding rewards to your day will motivate you to get them.