8 PRO Tips for Writing Daily To-Do Lists
Writing daily to-do lists is the backbone of personal productivity. Read on to learn how to write them like a PRO
When I first got started with self-improvement, I was using nothing but a to-do list. No fancy planning at all, just daily tasks, put on paper. And at the time, I was fairly productive, I was getting most of my daily tasks done.
Then, I started using digital tools, with the hope of becoming more productive. I organized my goals with Notion, tracked my daily tasks with Microsoft To-Do, color coded my Google Calendar, and built weekly, monthly, 3-monthly and yearly plans. But when I sat back to reflect on it, I realized that I wasn’t being more productive than before. In fact, I was being less productive because of all the time spent organizing my productivity system.
That’s why I decided to get rid of all the digital tools, and got back to using a good old paper to-do list.
Here’s an important realization: Your productivity isn’t measured by how organized you are, but rather, by how much you get done.
Even with a mighty productivity system that tracks all your goals, habits and daily tasks, you might be less productive than someone who just gets the work done without any planning.
If a productivity system doesn’t help you get work done, it’s effectively useless. Or worse, it’s a waste of time, and you better get rid of it, and use something simpler — like a to-do list.
A daily to-do list is the backbone of personal productivity. It’s the very foundation of it.
It tells you what you need to do, and encourages you to go and do it.
A simple to-do list is especially powerful for young men. We have the drive, the inner motivation to get tasks completed, just like how we want to complete quests in video games.
So, if you’re ready, here are 8 PRO tips to level up your to-do lists:
Tip #1 - Get a physical notebook
You don’t need anything fancy. A plain simple notebook is enough.
Here’s why I recommend using a physical notebook:
You will be checking your daily to-do list like.. 30 times per day. It better not be on your phone, so that you don’t get distracted by it.
It is much more satisfying to cross off tasks on paper rather than hearing a ‘ding’ sound on an app. This amplifies the effect of tip #8
Compared to writing on separate pieces of paper, or an app, with a to-do list notebook, all your daily to-do lists will be in front of your eyes, all in one place. Seeing the progress you’ve made over the past will motivate you to get more done today.
Tip #2 - Set in place 2 habits
Writing daily to-do lists is before anything else, a habit.
Here are the 2 habits you need to set in place
In the evening, write down every thing you need to do tomorrow. There are no hard set rules for this, but the remaining tips will have some recommendations.
In the morning, review your to-do list. See whether you missed any tasks, and mentally prepare yourself to tackle the tasks you have for today. DON’T neglect this, it is just as important as writing your to-do list in the evening.
Tip #3 - Only write tasks you MUST complete
No “it’d be good to do“ tasks.
Only “I MUST do“ tasks.
It seems obvious to me now, but I wish someone told this to me earlier: it’s better to leave tasks I want to do out of my to do list, so that I can enjoy doing them later on, knowing that I have completed all my priority tasks.
Example: “▢ Read for pleasure”. Reading for pleasure isn’t very important for me, so it’s okay if I don’t complete it. That’s why it’s better to leave it out of the to-do list, and only read after everything else is complete, rather than have it stay unchecked in my to-do list.
The next tip goes in depth as to why this is important:
Tip #4 - Treat each task like a commitment
Know that every time you write something on your to-do list, you are making a commitment.
Commitment.
Don’t take this word lightly.
Most people will write “▢ Hit the gym” on their to do list and what they mean is “I probably won’t have time for it, but if after work I feel like going to the gym, I will go to the gym.”
But when a disciplined man writes “▢ Hit the gym”, what he means is “I know I might not feel like doing it, I know other things might come up, but building my ideal physique matter so much to me that I am going to go to the gym regardless.”
This is why I recommend keeping wanna do tasks out of your to-do list. Because having tasks that aren’t commitments on your to-do list weakens the larger commitment of “I will complete all the tasks on my to-do list”.
Tip #5 - Write “completable” tasks only
This means one thing above any other: being clear.
In the previous letter, I explained that the main reason for procrastination is a lack of clarity about what completing a task means.
“▢ Work on your business” is not clear, you don’t know what you are supposed to do, so, you are likely to procrastinate on it.
“▢ Write the landing page for my X business for 2 hours” is clear as day, and even a pro procrastinator would struggle to procrastinate on it.
Tip #6 - Include habits on your to-do list
If a habit is already wired in your brain, you don’t need to write it in your to-do list. I never write “▢ Morning exercise” on my to do list, because exercising in the morning has become second nature to me, just like I don’t have to write the task “▢ Brush your teeth”.
But for other habits, it’s useful to add them to your to-do list.
I have “▢ Stretching” on my to-do list every day, because it sucks, and currently, the only way for me to reliably stretch every day is to discipline myself to do so.
Tip #7 - Stop “forwarding” your tasks
Just like an email, when you say to yourself “I will do it tomorrow”, you are effectively “forwarding” that task to your future self; you in tomorrow.
If you want to be productive, then you must get rid of this habit of forwarding tasks.
I get it, sometimes you can’t finish everything in a day. In that case, the rule is to forward once, but not twice: Today’s uncompleted tasks go to tomorrow, but no further.
If you notice that with a certain task, you have a tendency to put it off to tomorrow after tomorrow, then investigate.
These 3 simple journaling prompts will help:
Is the task too challenging or intimidating?
Do I know what I need to do?
And if so, why am I not doing it?
Tip #8 - Celebrate after completing every task
Do a fist pump
Congratulate yourself
Act as if you hit a PR at the gym — Yeeeaaahhh Budyyyy !!!
And do a triple back flip or a celebratory dance when all your tasks for the day are done.
Sounds silly?
It doesn’t matter. What matters is that celebrating is freaking powerful.
You will get a dopamine hit, which will make you want to complete tasks again (tip #1 crossing off tasks on paper adds on to that).
And the real power of celebrating comes form its ability to change your identity.
You act like the kind of person who completes all the tasks on their to-do list, and soon, you become that person.
That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed reading this letter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment — I reply to everyone!