To-Do or Not To-Do. That is The Question.

The manner in which some people orchestrate their daily activities is sheer poetry.

Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people. I need help…and lots of it. So I put a lot of thought into managing my To-Do Lists, and here I’ll share with you what I have learned.

Most people I know in industry use whatever their corporate business partners use for To-Do list management. But, what do you use when you’re away from the office or at home?

Online To-Do List Management

You can find plenty of reviews of To-do list management software on the web.

There are far too many to mention here, but my favorites include some online services, including Orchestrate, Wallnote (actually, it’s called NutShell now), and Remember the Milk, to name a few.

Since they are web-based, you don’t need to cart around your computer. You can access your own list or even a shared list over the web from anywhere, as long as you have access to a computer or a suitable device, and WiFi or mobile internet. The downside, of course, is just that – you have to have a device.

Low Tech To-Do List Solutions

Enter stage left: my favorite low-tech solution… The Pocket Mod.

This is a nifty little idea. You print your To-Do list as a miniature booklet to carry around in your pocket.

There’s also a pdf to PocketMod converter that you can download. I know someone who carries around his entire little black book on a single sheet of paper, printed in EXTREMELY small font. But then again, I also know someone who writes his To-Do list on yellow stickies and attaches it to his clothing – everyone he comes in contact with during the day reminds him to “call the wife” or “walk the dog”. You get the idea.

You don’t need to go to that level of unsophistication, but why work so hard to print and cut a pocket mod when a slip of paper or 3×5 card works just fine?

Free-(ish) To-Do List Software

My favorite free bit of software is Swift To-Do List Lite. The link is to the freeware version, which limits you to 25 tasks on the list, but you can buy the upgrade to allow more items on the list.

What I like about it is its simplicity.

You can color code the tasks by five levels of priority assigned, sort the list, and export as either an HTML page or as a *.csv file and move it into MS Excel.
It is a little nicer than using Excel for all this, and besides, it’s free!

So, if you suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and want to avoid the whips and scorns of time, use this stuff to update your To-Do list often and
keep chipping away at those high-priority items.

You might also like to read Nick’s article on 20 Ways to Increase your Productivity.

So how do you manage your T0-Do list?