Coaching practices for Context Based to Do List

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Context Based to Do List, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• Whenever I get a free pocket of time I open one giant master list and have to wade past a dozen things I can’t even do right now
• My to-do list just keeps growing with no ceiling and everything floats around with no actual home in my day, so I drift between items, half-start a dozen things, and the open-endedness of it is its own low-grade weight I carry all day.
• My to-do list has everything I could ever conceivably do crammed onto it, so there’s no honest line between someday-maybe and what I’m actually committing to today
• I’ve got tasks scattered across three apps, a notebook, and sticky notes, and I spend more time tagging and reorganizing the system than doing anything in it
• My to-do list has swollen into a dumping ground for every someday-maybe idea I’ve ever had, so it’s less a plan than a wall of guilt

Practices that may help

1. Organize actions by context
   Group next actions by where, with what, or with whom they can be done.
   Getting Things Done (GTD), Made Practical
2. Time-box tasks instead of scheduling by list
   Assign each task a fixed time block on the calendar rather than a position on an open-ended to-do list.
   Parkinson's Law, Made Practical
3. Separate "will-do" from "to-do" lists
   Keep a master to-do list distinct from the closed daily "will-do" list that you actually commit to.
   Do It Tomorrow, Made Practical
4. Keep a simple, few-list system
   Use the fewest lists possible — one inbox, a few context lists, and nothing elaborate.
   Zen To Done (ZTD), Made Practical
5. Only put tasks on the board that you’ve explicitly decided to do
   Your Kanban board is not a wish list — only tasks you have consciously committed to belong in To Do.
   Personal Kanban, Made Practical
6. The ABCDE prioritization method
   Label every task A (must), B (should), C (nice), D (delegate), or E (eliminate) before starting.
   Eat That Frog, Made Practical
7. Calendar time blocking
   Give every task a specific start and end time on your calendar.
   Time Blocking, Made Practical
8. Think in scenarios and stories, not task lists
   Describe your ideal outcome for a period as a short narrative before breaking it into actions.
   Getting Results the Agile Way (AGS), Made Practical
9. Keep each project’s Action Steps physically separate from other projects
   Mixing action steps from different projects in a single list increases context-switching cost and makes progress harder to see.
   The Action Method, Made Practical
10. Classify every captured item as an Action Step, Reference, or Backburner
    When anything lands in your capture system, immediately sort it into one of three buckets — every item must belong to exactly one.
    The Action Method, Made Practical

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