Every individual should have a whiteboard. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big one, and to be honest a notebook also works just fine…but a whiteboard is a bit nicer on the eyes in my opinion. It’s also easier to use every day!
If you aren’t able to currently afford a whiteboard, a simple notebook or digital note-taking app also works for this. I prefer the whiteboard for its larger and more obvious appearance as well as quick reusability but there are certainly alternatives to which all of the following information applies!
My whiteboard is used for daily personal & work to-dos. I try to make sure to do this every night before I get in bed. I observe the tasks I completed for the day, I look at the ones I haven’t completed and then erase the whole board. Then I write whatever to-do’s I want to accomplish the following day.
Sometimes I’ll rewrite any of the to-dos I didn’t complete, but if they weren’t important enough to get done often I’ll save them for a future day when I have more free time.
I DON’T write the to-dos down in any special order, they just flow onto the board as quickly as I think of them.
I tend to aim for 7-12 tasks per list, but this varies based on difficulty as well.
I generally will input some of them from Todoist as well. Todoist is the todo app (go figure) that I use for every task I need to accomplish. I have a homework list, a collaborative project list, and a general todo list. These are generally dated and shown in a today view so I am able to see what is coming up and what needs to be accomplished. I always check my Todoist & Google Calendar to guarantee that I am not missing any important events.
Overall, I write down the tasks for the next day each night before bed.
How does this help me?
Every morning when I roll out of bed, I have a rough plan for the day without ever putting any mental energy into thinking about it. I wake up and see the whiteboard hanging on the wall in front of me. I see a simple breakdown of what I should be headed towards throughout the day.
I often add basic tasks such as showering, folding laundry, or making breakfast so that I’ll have a good motivational start by having such easy tasks to cross off straight away. There is science behind this phenomenon, perhaps I’ll go more in-depth on that in the future!
How does this help you?
By implementing this system into your life, you are giving yourself the opportunity to begin your days better. You are giving yourself the visual path to complete more in a given day.
And once you are into the routine, it becomes second nature to you and you’ll find yourself checking more and more things off!
So get out there and buy a whiteboard or notebook or note-taking apps and start writing your tasks down and checking them off like you’re Elon Musk creating companies!