Planning Hack: Just Say "No" to Floating To Do Lists

May 2020: photographic proof of my almost sporty renaissance

This month marks two years since society was forced into a widespread lockdown. I usually love to look back on photos of my daughter “on this day” from past years, but I feel surprisingly troubled looking at the innocence on all of our faces from photos during this time two years ago.

Some of that season sort of felt novel. Do you remember that? All of a sudden we were thrust into a life where our social circle became immediate family. Schedules became simple. Every activity was at home.

No restaurants. No outings.

The outdoors were our sanctuary.

And for those of us who could, working from home became the norm.

We baked bread. We attended virtual concerts. I got hyped about MasterClass (still recommend Bob Iger and Chris Voss' classes!) and thought I might start playing softball more. (🤣) It was all very scary but it was also kind of quaint and refreshing. Weird.

I’m glad I didn’t know two years ago what all we would be in for and just how long COVID would be a big part of our lives. One big thing that I see when I look back on these last two years is how much we adapt when we’re forced to. We are a resilient people.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then needing to work from home with one—and then two—little kids sure pushed me to optimize my productivity and time management skills.

Here’s one planning hack that made a huge difference for me in business and in life.

Just say “no” to floating to do lists.

Sometimes you need to jot down ideas, but a "To Do" List that has no deadlines or schedule, is just a list of thoughts. Resist the urge to just make a list without following through and figuring out when you need to finish something and where on your calendar you’re actually going to put it.

Caveat: deadlines can change. Life happens. Sometimes more important or urgent things come up and you have to shift things around. But at least begin with a specific deadline. It's better to aim at something and then make adjustments if needed.

Deadlines serve as a form of accountability. Use them to your advantage to make sure a list of things you want or need to do "at some point" actually get done.