Coaching practices for How to Simplify Todo List

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

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

• 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 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
• My list is just a flat wall of tasks that all look equally urgent, so I keep grabbing whatever’s easiest instead of whatever matters
• 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 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. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. Organize actions by context
   Group next actions by where, with what, or with whom they can be done.
   Getting Things Done (GTD), 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. Give someday items a time horizon to distinguish near and far
   Not all someday items are equal — some are waiting for next month, others for retirement.
   The Someday List
7. Clarify each item into a concrete next action
   For every captured item, decide what it is and the very next physical action.
   Getting Things Done (GTD), Made Practical
8. 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
9. The two-minute rule
   If a clarified action takes under two minutes, do it now instead of tracking it.
   Getting Things Done (GTD), Made Practical
10. 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

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