Write A To-Do List That Works

March 17, 2008

Elephant Burgers

You have a plan to change your life. At least you have the next couple of steps.

You look at what you’ve written down to move you forward. You know you want to get there. You remember being excited just thinking about taking these steps.

But now when you look at the steps on your To-Do List you keep putting them off. Some people say it’s resistance—maybe you’re anxious about changing, maybe the rut feels comfortable and keeps calling to you. But that doesn’t really fit.

What could be holding you back?

One possibility is that your steps don’t really seem like something you can do. Or at least they don’t seem like something you can put on a To-Do List and get done.

Are your steps too vague? It’s hard to accomplish something when you don’t know when you’re done.

Are your steps too big? It’s overwhelming to take on something when you know it’s complicated but you’re not sure where to begin or what it’ll take to finish.

Here’s an example. Jeremy has decided he has a passion for music and technology and wants to see if he’ll like working in a recording studio. On his To-Do List he wrote: “Look for part-time position (volunteer or paid) in a local recording studio.”

That’s not exactly an action step for a To-Do List. It’s almost a goal. Let’s rewrite it. Jeremy’s focused goal can be stated as: “Find a part-time position (volunteer or paid) in a local recording studio.” From that goal he gets to try out his interest and see if it fits his passions.

What are the action steps? They include finding local studios, finding out who makes decisions on hiring or internships or informal “hanging out and learning” relationships, finding out the best way to initiate contact, setting up time to meet or talk on the phone with the decision-maker, and so on.

Jeremy’s To-Do List will work better for him if he organizes it like this:

* Identify local recording studios – get addresses, phone numbers, web sites, e-mail addresses

* Call or e-mail one studio to gather information – part-time jobs, internships, opportunities for learning, who makes those decisions, how to contact?

* Follow-up with contacting decision-maker at first studio

* Use information learned to plan how to contact other studios if first one doesn’t have opportunities
* Contact next studio on the list

Each one of these steps is more Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-defined. This SMART system helps you turn long-term goals into short

Posted in Elephant Burgers, Zine 6: March 2008