Get're Done - Start with a master task list.

Lets talk about your task list.

• Is it helping you get the most important things done?
• Is it allowing you to work with integrity by helping your deliver on your promises?
• Are all your tasks available for you to review in one spot?
• When was the last time your wrote an item on your task list that you had already completed, just so that you could put a check mark next to the item.

Task lists play an important role in helping us remember the items that we need to complete at work, at home and for the family. I believe in maintaining a master task list for all my tasks and ideas. The master task list is a depository of the items that I want to do for all aspects of my life. Maintaining a master task list has many benefits:

Remember what you promised:
How many times have you been in a meeting and made a comment about something that your would do for someone. This casual statement is now an expectation for the person that you were with. They are counting on you to get that items done. Capturing these items on your list when you promise them to others helps you remember what you said you would do.

Sleep Easier:
Do you know someone who has a hard time going to sleep, because as they lay there in bed trying to relax, there brain is working overtime on what they need to get done. I know someone like this. Capturing a list of these items on a sleepless night onto a master task list is even better than counting sheep. Writing them down tells your mind that it is alright for it to relax about that task, you have it written down in a foul proof system that will remind you about the task tomorrow.

Capture Ideas:
A master task list is a great place to capture ideas that you have. Because you are not going to assign due dates to your master task list items, you can write down that ideas that your would like to figure out and try. I wonder how many good ideas have been lost because they were never recorded and went by the wayside.

Maintain Lists:
Within my master task list I often maintain other list of things that I want to record. For example you will always find a list of books that I want to read in my master task list. Maybe it is a list of items that you want to order from a vendor, but you want to make sure that you meet their minimum order. Keep your list handy so that you can refer to it the next time you want to place an order and make sure you do not miss anything.

Your master task list does not have to be perfectly organized, you will do that when you move the items to your daily task list. Remember that you can delete these items later if you feel that they are irrelevant or no longer apply. Just get all your ideas down onto your list.