The core of my scheduling system is my weekly to-do list. When I have new tasks or things to do, this is where I write them down. I keep one to-do list a week; it is my master to-do list. During an academic week, my to-do list can range from anywhere between 20 and 45 items. My to-do lists are cumulative: that means I include work tasks (e.g., course assignments, reviewing papers, and writing) and personal tasks (e.g., baking, cleaning the fridge, and taking out the garbage).
Where do I write them?
When I first started writing weekly to-do lists, I used to write them on index cards, loose white paper, or college-ruled three-ringed binder paper. Now, I use dotted paper in my Happy Planner.
What do they look like?
A mock to-do list. Notice that I have included work things (e.g., analyses for projects) and personal things (“Dye Hair”).
My to-do list is a pretty simple numbered list. Though I’ve used the same general system since high school, I’ve made two major edits that have really helped me out.
I vary the length of my “check box” to indicate the length of time it takes to complete that to-do task. This is where dotted paper comes in handy because I can draw these boxes easily. I’ll also only draw boxes when I’ve started working on a task (that way, I’ll be able to see which tasks I didn’t work on that week).
Most of my tasks have one to three boxes. One box is a relatively short task (e.g., writing a rec letter, sending an email). Two boxes indicate that the task is longer (e.g., writing a blog post, reading articles). Three boxes are for the longest tasks (e.g., writing part of a paper, grading, finishing coding tasks). Sometimes, especially when I’m collecting data, I’ll have longer boxes (e.g., if I’m collecting news articles for a constructed week, I’ll draw seven boxes).
When I finish a task, I “x” out the number and color in the checkbox (like Task 5)Many of the things I do require multiple steps. I’ll “thread” related action steps by writing the second task next to the first task’s check box. This is especially useful for data analyses. For example, if I need to: collect tweets, analyze them, create a graph, and then write a blog post, I’ll write this as multiple steps on one row.
We can see this in the example to-do list. Task 8 requires me to grade first, and then put the grades in the gradebook. In this example, I’ve finished grading, but I haven’t put them in the gradebook. Task 10 requires me to collect data first before using the data in a lesson plan. I’ve planned to do this task, but I haven’t started on it yet.For tasks that are urgent or must be done by a certain date, I indicate that task with a star and/or I write the due date of that task to the far right. To do this, I use an erasable red Frixion pen (I like being able to erase the stars). Honestly, I don’t think how you indicate it matters (you could highlight your task, or use a permanent pen, or something else), but you need a way to signal to your brain that this task has a looming deadline.
In this example, Task 7 (read book chapter 1 & 2)is important. Task 8 and 10 are due Friday. It may not be urgent on Monday, but I would likely put stars next to these tasks by Wednesday.When I am done with a task with a star, I erase the star on that task and cross the task out as I normally would.
Notice that Task 6 (7-day data collection) has 7 boxes. Task 8 (grading) is a lengthy task (once I grade something, I have to also record it in my gradebook, which is a fairly quick process), Task 7 (read book chapter 1 & 2) is a medium-length task, and task 9 (scheduling a meeting for a project) is a short task. I have completed Task 5 (Zettelkasten Update). I’ve started on Task 3 (blog post) and Task 7, both of which are “urgent” (marked with a red star), but I' haven’t completed them.
Why use to-do lists?
This to-do list is very important to me because it is my “task dump”: it is a centralized location for me to check. When I look at my to-do list, I get a sense of what I need to accomplish. I can also tell when I’m taking on too much (e.g., when I have 40+ tasks).
I haven’t fully completed a weekly to-do list since my last year in high school (I distinctly remember exclaiming my excitement during an AP Java class), and I write the to-do list knowing I will have to transfer several tasks to the next week (especially if I write them down on Friday, which is when I write a lot of my tasks).
When I took classes, I would try to put down my upcoming assignments at least two weeks in advance. For courses with term papers, I will break down the paper’s task into smaller increments (read articles, collect data, analyze data, write parts of the paper). I’ll then turn these smaller pieces into various action steps that I thread together (e.g., read these articles, and then write a short memo about them; grade these assignments and then post them on Canvas).
How can I do this digitally?
I’d be remised if I didn’t extoll the virtues of writing by hand, if possible. There are a lot of benefits to writing your to-do list by hand, including increased retention, the ability to practice your handwriting, and time to reflect on your tasks.
However, I understand that it might not be possible for all people. The key to maintaining a weekly to-do list is to have one centrally located place for it, regardless of where it is. You can’t maintain a different to-do list on your phone, your computer, and on different post-it notes and hope to have a handle on everything you have to do.
On your computer, you can use a sticky note application (Sticky Notes/Stickies/Xpad) to maintain a running list. If you have multiple sticky notes, you want to make sure your “Master To-Do List” is always noticeable, and probably a different color from the others. Though you won’t need to migrate tasks week by week, you should take an hour a week to assess your tasks, determine how much progress you’ve made on important ones, and remove tasks that are no longer necessary.
Want an app for that? There are also many to-do list/task manager phone apps. When I maintained a digital-dominant scheduling system (about 2 years ago), I had a digital to-do list that I would replicate in writing. During this time, I really enjoyed using Any.do because of its simplicity, but there are many other apps you can use.
What about color-coding tasks?
I’ve often tried to color-code my tasks (e.g., write all my coding tasks in green, and all my reading tasks in red, and all my grading tasks in purple), but I’ve found that what I gain from that information isn’t worth the time it takes to switch between colored pens. I also don’t carry around my colored pens everywhere.
On occasion, I do decorate my task list with interesting quotes, stickers, creatively handwritten notes.
Decorating your to-do list is also a good way to practice your letter writing and/or calligraphy (or doodling).
What if I want different to-do lists for different things?
Some people like keeping multiple to-do lists (for example, I have daily to-do lists that are subsets of my weekly to-do list). This is especially common when you teach: you may want to keep your work plans separate from your personal plans.
In these cases, I would still encourage maintaining one master to-do list, but I would write my teaching tasks as generically as possible (“write lesson plan for X”) or my master to-do list would refer to my teaching to-do list (“complete tasks 1-3 in my teaching to-do list”).
You can absolutely have multiple planners/journals (one for personal, one for research, one for teaching/lesson plans) but still maintain one to-do list.