Productivity Tools

Use Lists to Manage Your Life

My wife is the queen of lists. She uses an iPHone 4s and can, a swipe and a couple of taps, pull up whatever information she needs to plan her next action. For example, she uses SplashShopper to track all our shopping lists. If we pop into Home Depot to pick up a gallon of paint, she checks to see what other hardware items we might need, saving a second trip. She has lists of gift ideas, quotes for greeting cards, honey-do’s and much more.

Lists are the simplest tool or system for managing your life. They consolidate all your tasks in one place. They can tickle your memory or stimulate your creativity. Lists can be as simple or as complex as you need.

You can read lists that give insight into who we are in the Sasha Cagen book, To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us.

Here is a quick outline of some of the lists you can keep:

  • Reference
    • Dates
      • Birthday
      • Anniversary
    • Personal information
    • Account information
    • Action
      • To-do
      • Bills to pay
      • Projects
      • Communication
      • Planning
      • Context-based
    • Shopping
      • Groceries
      • Clothing
      • Household
      • Gifts
    • Ideas

    What are some of the lists you use?