Making a More Effective To-Do List

The holiday hustle and bustle is like no other! The mall and department store parking lots are a nightmare, and don't even think about going to the post office without waiting in a massive line. It's like everyone and their mother comes out of hiding this month. 

The only way I avoid all of this is to go first thing in the morning or just do everything online. It's getting real close to the cut off day to order stuff online and it to still make it here before Christmas! Some stores are ridiculous and want an extra $20 to shop earlier. Sometimes that $20 is worth it...sometimes (a lot of the time) it's not! 

To make this whole situation less stressful and more enjoyable or at least productive, is to tackle it with a plan of action...aka a To-Do List. I love to cross stuff of a to-do list, it gives you some sort of high. :) Weirdo...

This week has been completely void of plan of actions and I'm paying for it! This is the last week before Christmas (8 days away!!) and I need to get my ish together. Yesterday I left the house, drove across town, realized I forgot something, drove back home, grabbed it, drove back across town. At which by that time, Nelpe had had it with her car seat and was screaming to let her free. Not even the characters in Madagascar could soothe her. I don't wanna have to do THAT again, so today, after droppping Sophia off at school I came home, sat down and made a To-Do List then started gathering all the stuff I need to take to the post office. I literally have been trying to make it to the post office for a week now. I just keep forgetting/running out of time to get all my addresses and packages ready to ship. The last thing I want to do is label/write addresses on a bunch of different packages AT the Post Office with a one year old on my hip desperately trying to get down so she can rip all the holiday cards off the display. Right?!

So, right now I have 4 different lists in front of me.

1. Christmas Shopping List
2. Post Office List
3. Grocery Store List
4. List to remind me to do all the above plus more errands.

TIPS on making a More Effective To-Do List

1.Have paper & pen available in the kitchen: I say kitchen because it's usually the central area in everyone's home, but any room you frequent the most will do. Every time something pops in your mind, write it down. This helps most with grocery items, but other important tasks pop up sometimes too! 

2. Make it the night before: Night time is usually the time when I remember everything I was supposed to do that day. Also, by making it the night before, you can wake up energized and ready to get things done!

3. Re-evaluate: Sometimes I write a bunch of stuff on my to-do list because I just write whatever comes to mind, hoping to not forget a single item! Then after a couple days, some items might still be left undone, even though they're on my list. So, after it's all written down, go back and re-evaluate your list. Sometimes there may be something that needs to be done before you can complete that task OR it's just not important and needs to be taken off the list. 

4. Prioritize:  Put the most important and urgent tasks towards the top of your list. This may mean re-writing your list. Making these a top item will make you re-read them over and over until they're marked off. 

5. Write time estimations: This is a good thing to do because it gives you a good idea on how long everything with take. If you find yourself with an extra 30 minutes before school pick-up or your next meeting, find something on our list with that time frame and get it done!

***To make things fun, Check out these FREE PRINTABLE TO-DO LISTS!

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XOXO