I have a confession to make: I used to work from 7am to 10:30pm and still not finish everything on my to-do list.  It was awful!  I felt unmotivated, slow, like the kid you pick last for a high school gym class team.  I went to bed dreaming about those items still not crossed off my list.  Why was I so bad at getting things done?

It wasn’t until talking to other makers and business owners that I realized I was making some critical mistakes when it came to making my to-do list and plowing through it each day.  I’m guessing there’s at least one other person out there working as much as I was and getting not-quite-enough done so I’m going to share those mistakes.  That way, you can become more productive too!

1. Make your to-do list before you go to bed.  It will empty your mind and you won’t stay up late thinking of all the things you need to remember to do tomorrow.  They’re already down on paper.
2. Do the one thing you ‘loathe’ to do first and do it before you check Facebook, your email, Twitter, or any other site that sucks you in.  If you do the worst thing on your list first, the whole rest of the day you don’t have to dread doing it!
3. Make your list achievable!  My new planner only has 12 lines in it for each day.  I can’t go over 12.  12 things is all I can do in one day.  Any more and I won’t finish.
4. Break down your big tasks (like a launch) into teeny, actionable steps.  I’m launching an embroidery of the month club next week and I broke down that task into 20 steps, one for every day leading up to the launch.  It’s made the whole thing seem much less daunting.
5. Allot time for each item on your list.  After each item on my list, I write down a time slot for it.  So, for example, writing this post was on my list and behind it I wrote: 1:00 – 2:00pm.  That way as I go throughout my day, I can see when I’m falling behind and pick up the pace.
6. Celebrate!  At the end of the day, be sure you celebrate crossing every thing off.  If you don’t congratulate yourself on these small victories, you’re less likely to celebrate the big victories.  When the final thing is done on my list, I find one song I love and dance to it.  What better way to end the day?

Ready to rock your to-do list now?  I hope so!  Got other tips for increasing your productivity and actually making your to-do list work for you?  Please share them below in the comments!

{Featured image via Julie Ann Art}