HOW CAN TO-DO LISTS & STICKY NOTES AID IN BREAKING LARGE GOALS INTO DAILY & WEEKLY TARGETS?

Hello people! I hope your monthly and long-term goals are all set by this time and I’m pretty sure you were expecting this blog.

If you haven’t done them yet, don’t worry, I’ll assist you through the process. 

What you are reading right now is a series of blogs on GOAL-SETTING and if you haven’t read the previous ones – I highly recommend you to read about long-term and monthly goal-setting and kickstart with the process.

OKAY! Let’s not waste time and dive in!

You should understand that weekly and daily goals are closely related. If you ensure that your daily goals are met, they pave way for a satisfying week. Thereby a major part of this blog will be focusing on satisfying everyday to-dos which will ultimately aid in achieving weekly targets.

Here are few things you need to keep in mind before you fix daily goals: 

1) Don’t make them more complicated and large.

 2) Remember the ‘SMART’ rule 

3) Also, include new habits you are trying to inculcate. 

To-do lists and sticky notes are fabulous tools to make your day organized and stress-free.

1. What is a TO-DO list?

• It is a list that basically has everything you need to do in a day which is prioritized with the most important tasks at the top and the least at the bottom.
•  It is mainly created to remind you of the tasks for the day.

 There is no compulsion that it should be prepared only in the morning, but the night before is also instrumental.

2. How is it beneficial?

• The act of writing down a list forces us to set concrete workable goals than vague objectives.

FOR EG: A list that specifies – "I’ll learn accountancy chapter 2 – Financial statements between 9am-11am" is more concrete than thinking “I’ll probably learn accountancy for 2 hours today”.

• Writing can also help us remember important tasks and majorly you won’t even require a reminder. Your mind will do the job for you.
• A TO-DO list made for the entire week like – ‘Meal preparation list’, ‘Study schedule’, ‘Weekly workout plan’ etc have a greater impact on its accomplishment rate.

3. How to work up a TO-DO list? 

Take your diary\paper & a pen. Write down the date and day. Afterward, list all those tasks that you should finish by the end of the day or week

• Keep it simple – mere hints is also enough because longer sentences would take more time. Eg: Attend the zoom office call, Start preparing the report, Study company law for 2hours etc.
• Prioritize from high to low – let the most important tasks top the list. You can even highlight them with a brighter color.
• Be flexible – don’t pressurize yourself. Even if it doesn’t get ticked by the end of the day, don’t curse yourself, rather take it as a motivation for tomorrow.

Pro Tip: If you are comfortable with typing a TO-DO list on your smartphone, you can download apps for the same.

I use TODOIST. Why I love this app is because it is extremely user-friendly and has different color options for prioritizing. At the end of the day, I come back to the app and tick off the checkboxes.

There are also, other popular apps like Microsoft To Do, TickTick, To Do list, Google Tasks and much more which you can explore.

Sticky notes are also effective yet a quirky tool to make your work desk looking colorful and enchanting. It is a small post-it note that can be easily attached, removed and re-posted everywhere without leaving any glue residue. 

Sticky notes are stuck even on laptop screen sides, walls, refrigerator doors, and basically, everywhere you want. 

-> I use them to remind me of important formulas and key points before my exams. 

This is the wall before my study desk

Well! The above are 2 of my favourite gears for everyday productivity and tasking.

Your To-do list should be contributing to your happiness and not dominating your life. Don't beat yourself up for not having completed the tasks. 

"Getting up, dusting and trying again tomorrow is a true achievement".

Hooray! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this series on GOAL-SETTING. I hope it added some sort of value to your lives and living.

Until next time :)

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 If you have any queries, feel free to reach out. I'd love to guide you ◉‿◉