Ismail Kamdar – Time Management_ 5 Common To-Do List Mistakes

			So in this video, I want to speak about five common mistakes that many people make when putting
together the to do list, as I mentioned, a to do list is perhaps the most important thing you can
make for your time management. Without a to do list, you really don't know what needs to get done
today, what needs to get done tomorrow. And this really helps bring structure to your day. Now, the
most common mistake that people make with their to do list is that they try to make it first thing
in the morning, they wake up in the morning, and they say, What do I need to do today? And they
start writing it down. Now, why is this a mistake? This is a mistake, because in the morning, you
		

			are groggy, you are tired, it takes you a while to remember things. So it may take you half an hour
to an hour to actually make you to do this. And then to you're going to forget some things. So
what's the alternative? The alternative is to do what I do every day. Before going to bed. I make
sure my to do list for the next day is ready. Why? So that when I wake up, I know exactly what needs
to get done for that day. And I start plowing through my to do list so no time is wasted in the
morning thinking, what do I need to do today? I already know I wrote it the night before I slept on
it, my mind worked out to plan for it while I'm sleeping I wake up full of energy and I get it done.
		

			So Mistake number one, making a to do list in the morning, fix for that mistake, make it the day
before around 5pm around 7pm. Whichever time suits you. Just make sure you go to bed with your next
day's To Do List already written out. Mistake number two is keeping it too short. So if your to do
list has three or four items on it, within the first two or three hours of the day, it's done. What
do you do with the rest of the day. So make sure you fully dealt with enough tasks to get done in
that day. So you need to figure out for yourself. Okay, I have these five tasks on my to do lists.
This one takes me five minutes, this one takes me one hour, that one takes me one and a half hours.
		

			The other one takes me 10 minutes, the other one takes me 15 minutes, there's only three hours of
work have eight working hours in a day. Let me add a few more tasks in or Mistake number three is on
the opposite end of the spectrum, which is making your to do list too long. So you have eight hours
in a day, and you filled in 30 tasks to do lists. And most of them take an hour or half hour to do,
it's impossible to complete it. So you need to be realistic, you need to figure out how much time
you need per task. And accordingly make your to do this now every task is different. So if you look
at my to do lists, I have tasks which take five to 10 minutes a day, and have tasks which take one
		

			or two hours a day and have a balance between the two. So when I wake up in the morning, it looks
like I have 15 tasks to do for the day. While those 15 tasks, five of them are time consuming. And
the other 10 take about five or 10 minutes each. So it's manageable. It's it's realistic for myself,
because I understand myself, I know how much time I need for each task. And I know I can get done in
a day. So Mistake number two, too short Mistake number three, too long. How do you fix these
mistakes, figure out how much time you need for each task. And then make your to do list accordingly
to fully enough tasks to make up for your work hours. Mistake number four is leaving out things
		

			which are not due today. So you may say you know what this is only due in three weeks time, I'm not
putting it on my to do list today. That's a big mistake. Because in three weeks time, you're going
to have to do three weeks worth of work in one day when you finally decide to add it to your to do
list. So this goes to chunking, which is another time managed principle taught in this course. And
that basically means break it down. If you have three weeks to work on an assignment, break it down
so that you work on it for 10 minutes, or 15 minutes a day every day for those three weeks. And you
will get it done in time. Do not say this is not due today. So I'm not putting it on my to do list.
		

			rather say I will work towards it today, I will work on it for 15 minutes today or half an hour
today. Whatever it is, make sure that if something is due in a few weeks, or even in a few months
time or even if it doesn't have a deadline, that you still add it to your to do list if it is
important to you, for example, making these videos. There's no deadline for them. Now, it's
something which if I want I can procrastinate indefinitely about and no one's going to tell me
anything about it. But I make sure that I added to my to do list to record a video a day. Why? So
that it gets done. Otherwise, I would just procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate, but if
		

			it's on the to do list, it gets done. So Mistake number four is thinking that it's not you today so
I'm not going to write it down. No, if it's important to you write it down. Otherwise it's never
gonna get done. And you may end up missing a deadline altogether or never ever doing it.
		

			Mistake number five is thinking that this is such a small thing. I don't
		

			I need to write it in my to do list, I'll remember it. And if you do that I'm thinking if you have a
busy day, there's a big chance you are going to forget to do it. So I write everything down in my to
do list that needs to be done that day, whether it's paying my rent, whether it's picking up my
paycheck, with his phoning my mechanic, whatever it is, even if it seems trivial, if we need to get
done that day, it is written in my to do lists. Otherwise, I'm going to forget it. Now there's a
chance I might not forget it, but it's also a chance that I might forget it. I don't want to take
that chance. So don't think it's too small to write down. If it needs to be done, write it down so
		

			that you don't forget it. So these are five common mistakes that people make when putting together
their to do lists. Number one, making it in the morning. Number two, making it too short and number
three, making it too long. Number four, leaving out tasks that are not due today. And number five,
thinking as remembered so I don't need to write it down. I feel avoid these five mistakes than your
to do list to become a major factor in your time management.