Cecil McIntosh, EYC Relaxation Coach, from http://www.emptyyourcup.com, just left a comment that 

"I find that most of my client’s intellectual know what needs to be done but do not have a system for taking ACTION.  I used a daily “TO DO LIST.” I cross off what I have done for the day with a yellow marker. If I am unable to accomplish a task for that day then I carry it over to the next day. When I look back at each day I am often amazed at how much I have accomplished."

 
I'm glad that a to-do list works for her!  But I find that it does work for some moms, but not for others. Many women simply get overwhelmed by their to-do lists.

Here's a tip about creating better (less overwhelming) to-do lists that recently wrote for an upcoming e-interview on Neatliving.net: 

One BIG mistake that I see moms make all the time is in making their To-Do Lists.  Sometimes, They'll throw EVERYTHING on one list until they have a list that is 5 miles long and so SCARY that they avoid doing anything!

I like to teach my clients a part of David Allen’s System from Getting It All Done  (This one will FOR SURE come in handy around holiday time!)

David draws an all-important distinction for busy moms (or any busy person) to learn – the difference between a project and a next action.

A Project is any desired outcome that requires more than one action step. You can’t do a project – you can only do an action related to a project.

A Next Action is the absolute next physical thing to do to complete a project.

You see, clients get overwhelmed when they look at a to-do list that has next actions and projects jumbled together on it.  It means that each time they go through the list they have to think about each entry and what the next action might be instead of being able to take action right away. It becomes mentally draining and they can eventually become numb to list.

Your to-do list should ONLY contain next actions – the VERY NEXT physical thing to do on each project.  You can keep track of your projects on a separate list. For example, your to-do list might say something like “Repaint the banister.” Unless you’ve got everything ready for painting, repainting the banister is probably a project -- not a next action. It should go on your projects list. What goes on your “next action” or “to-do” list is the very next step like “buy the paint” or even “call Bob to find out the name of the beautiful paint he used on his banister.”

When moms have a bunch of projects and next actions weighing them down I urge them to do a “brain dump”  (brainstorming session) and write down every single project and next action that comes into their head. This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.  Next I ask them to sort their list into projects and next actions. Then I have them sort their projects into categories related to their roles like “Family Projects” “Work Projects” Community Work Projects” “Projects for  (Grown Up) Fun”  “Home Improvement Projects.”  Some projects will be Important and/or Urgent to accomplish in the short-term and some will be long-term projects or projects for personal satisfaction with no specific due date. Seeing them all laid out in categories can bring an immediate sense of relief because of the clarity it provides.  Now you can see all of your projects clearly and more easily decide your priorities for the day, week, month and year.

Next I often recommend that clients create a “Master Next Action List.” This step is optional, but many find it helpful.  Simply write the project titles on a page and leave lots of space beneath each. Use as many pages as you need. Then brainstorm each action step that it will take to complete the project – no matter how many steps it will take. Write them all down!


Now, it’s time to create your “to-do” list, which should consist of ONLY next actions. Remember, next actions are the very next physical step you need to do to complete a project.    If you know the projects that you want to work on right away, you can simply create a “to-do” list by writing down the next action step on each of those projects.

The final step is to group each “next action” in to mini lists, usually based on your priorities, your energy level, where you will be during the day and what resources will be available at the time. For example, my list is often sorted into categories like:

- Do in the morning before the kids wake up – This is the best time for me do to “brainwork” like writing.

- Do At My Desk – paperwork for my business or family
 
- Things to do at the computer – For example, I’ll often jot down a key word to research for an idea that I had and want to “goggle.”


- Calls to make” If I’m at the phone, I like to do all of my phone calls in one shot so I list them all together

- “Errands to run” I try to list them in the order that I would run them to minimize travel time.

Now all of this sounds like a lot of work. Initially, it may be, but after a while it becomes a habit and my clients just start naturally organizing their to-do lists this way. In other words, they learn the difference between a project and a next action, so their to-do list only consists of next actions. If they ever feel overwhelmed by all of the projects running around and around in their minds, they can simply map them out again as I have described. It can really save a busy mom’s sanity to look at her to-do list and know the very next action she needs to take and the best time and place to do them!