The To Do List

I think the bad wrap that the to-do list is kind of funny.  The theory is that the to do list becomes a list of things that have to be done on a daily basis  and long term strategic tasks get lost in the daily.  I think that people who believe this probably aren't doing their to-do list correctly.

For me, the to-do list is an important time management tool.  I still use a little book to put my daily to-do list into and to take notes.  I use it to record my daily work and to mark off those things that are complete.  I just do not put the daily tasks, but I also record those big long term strategic tasks into the book as well.  A task might span several weeks as I work on it.  It reminds me that I have to work on it and to make progress.

Because I work on several projects and products at the same time, the to-do list is helpful.  I prefer to actually use a pen and paper for my list and notes.  People say I am old fashioned, but I do what works for me.  I have hundreds of little books full of notes and to-do lists.  I can look back over the years and see what I worked on and the lessons learned from those projects. Many newer project managers who grew up in the digital age use a computer program I am sure.  I do too, but only to document when work is complete.

So despite the proclamation that the to-do list is dead, at least one successful project manager uses them.