I have a to-do list sitting on the microwave that is next to my bed. There are more things I have to do by Friday than things that are crossed off and it’s very daunting. It contains my life essentially with few exceptions for the next few days and it holds everything I have to do. It’s a very daunting thing to have a to-do list, it puts a lot of pressure on accomplishing things that kind of seem impossible to accomplish sometimes.

Some of the tasks are simple like walking to student life because I won a t-shirt, doing dishes, laundry, or finishing my note cards but some are a lot more time consuming. For example in my literature class I’m designing a website about Gwendolyn Brooks and it’s just taking me FOREVER. It’s so time consuming. I also have a few Christmas presents to make still and packing to do and cleaning and organizing and just stuff to do all before Friday.

Since I have these to-do lists, I thought I could share some listing tips.

• Have a designated place to keep your list so you don’t lose it
• Cross things out as you do them that way you feel a sense of accomplishment
• Make it realistic. Don’t overshoot and try to accomplish world peace by Friday, it takes time.
• Put everything you need to do on it otherwise you will forget something, I can almost guarantee it.
• Write neatly, it would be very bad if you miss something you need to do because of sloppy writing.
• Use different colors to designate levels of importance. Lighter colors for least important things and darker colors for more important things. This way the important things really stand out.
• Put dates of when you need to finish each task by that way you don’t miss a deadline.

Good luck with your lists everyone!