POSTED: 09.20.2011

Power Time Tool #3: A Master List

TOPICS: Time Management

I had a wonderful time of speaking last week but came home to a desktop of scattered papers – mail from being away, speaking notes, people to followup with, emails to send out, book orders to mail, and a letter to be notarized. Ugh!

Nothing in itself was too hard. It was all just too much — until I took the time to overcome the Time and Task issue with one of my personal Power Time Tools I use to get myself out from under the pile.

Power Time Tool #3: A Monday “Master List (ML)”

Now I want you to actually do this step and not just nod your head that it’s a good idea. So grab a piece of paper and create your own Master List of real things you have to do.

A Master List is a categorized list of Actions you need to take that are more than things that can be accomplished in one day. It is a list that you create to clear a desktop of paperwork or to clear your mind when you feel overwhelmed. Here is how you achieve that:

Step 1. List the 3 Main Things as “Top Priorities.” Include an action word in front of each 2 word item like “Clear Desktop”, “Mail Birthday Gift” or “Draft Proposal”.

Step 2. Title Categories in one place you need to do like “To Do Work,” “To Do Home”, “Errands.” These could be in your iPhone or a Yellow Stickies so you can take them with you to the store. I put them on one sheet in my Planning notebook and can sit and review it each morning and night.

Step 3. Decide how often you need to write a Master List. Ironically I found when I write a To Do Monday morning for the day, it is really a Master List and takes me until Friday to get through everything on it? Why? Because we are most creative and ambitious at the beginning of the week and most likely to wrap up lose ends at the end of the week.

Write “ML” for Master List on the days you write one to clear your desktop or clear your mind. See how often you do this and get in a habit of doing this.