The Importance of List Making: Get Things Done Without Putting it Off

Why Create Lists?

I have been creating lists for as long as I can remember. People always used to ask me why I did it, I would frequently hear something like "what is the point?" "You should be able to rememeber." When I first started writing lists it was not because I found it hard to remember, I did it because it helped me to solidify my goals. Make them seem real, once I had them written on paper I was committed to getting it done. No excuses, it was written in black and white, I understand that writing lists is not for everyone. However, it is been the number one thing that has helped me to get things done. There is some kind of redemptive power about writing something down. I always say that you can change your life in a day because if you write something down and commit to getting something done, your life is already changed. You have already made that decision to take the steps towards getting it done and focusing on making it happen. Lists are not just for fundamental goals however, you can use lists to get daily tasks done in an efficient manner. For example, the laundry, the ironing, cleaning the floor, buying child's school uniform, and various other tasks. You can separate the important from the less important. This will mean that you do not waste your time doing tasks that are not really urgent at this time.

Lists Relieve Stress

Writing lists and putting everything down on paper in an organized fashion can help to alleviate the stress of having too many things to do at once. When you have too many things to do and you just do not know where to start, this can cause an enormous amount of stress. Therefore, writing everything you need to do down and putting everything in order of importance can ease the stress and worry of having so many things to do.

Lists Can Help You Achieve Short Term Goals

lists can help you to achieve the little goals as well as the big goals. Make one list of big goals and one list of short term, smaller goals. Tick them off as you go along, you can make mini lists for each day from the larger lists you have. Stick the lists on your wall where you can see them and start taking action. List making is one of the best ways of taking massive action. Having said this, some people build lists and just ignore them. However, more often than none, when you build a list you will be more likely to get it done.

Lists Can Make Long Term Goals Seem More Realistic

Do you have a list of mammoth long term goals in your head? Does getting these things done scare you to death? Write them down, just because your goals are huge it does not mean that they are not achievable. Short term goals can lead to long term goals, and long term goals can mean that your dreams become a reality. Therefore, get that pen and paper and start writing your long term goal list. Once it is written down, you are more likely to take that first step and actually take action. Try it out!