When I was in middle school, every once in a while I found myself home on a weekend with too many things to do: I had homework to finish, a school project to start, chores to do, my own projects to organize, and probably a phone call or two to make and a letter to mail. I used to worry about getting all of these things done and would tackle them haphazardly, doing whichever one seemed most urgent, or that I felt like doing at a given moment.
Then I discovered To-Do lists, and everything changed.
Instead of dashing around throughout the day, I’d take a scrap of paper about 5½ inches by 4¼ inches (my family used to tear used pieces of paper into quarters, then use the blank side as notepads) and write down all the things I wanted to do that day, in the approximate order I wanted to do them in. I felt relieved getting all of those tasks out of my head so I didn’t have to think about them anymore, but more importantly, having the list in hand gave me a tangible plan for making my way through the maze of a day when I had so many varied things to do.
Now I’m an adult who also has a lot of varied things to do: some writing-related, some business-related, some housework-related, and some random things that just have to get done.
To keep track of them all, I keep a schedule book, where every day I make a list of all the things I want to get done in the approximate order I want to do them in. As I finish tasks, I cross them off, and at the end of the day I draw a box around any tasks I don’t finish so I know to come back to them the next day, or another day when I have more time. For things I want to do a different day, I keep a weekly list I carry over from week to week, and for more longer-term projects and tasks, I keep an entirely separate list.
Sometimes, though, I notice a particular problem: what if I have so many short-term things with so many different deadlines that they overwhelm me, and I’m not sure how to start?
An Emergency Deadline-Sorting List Can Be a Lifesaver
Some weeks (and even some months!) are busier than others, with a LOT of different things that need doing, either all at once, or with different staggered deadlines.
In these situations I tend to feel paralyzed and overwhelmed. I’ll look at my To-Do list, see twenty different tasks of varying importance, and get lost in them, either focusing too much on small wins to clear out my plate, or going through frantic shifts in prioritizing that can be stressful and take up time.
More recently, though, I’ve been making Emergency Prioritizing Lists.
Emergency lists are different than my daily To-Do lists because I carry the same list over from day to day. They’re kind of like the 5½ inch by 4¼ inch squares of paper I used to brain dump everything on as a kid, except now I use blank index cards (the kind with no lines) instead of paper.
When I make an emergency list, I’ll pull out a blank card, then look over my regular To-Do list (which can often be sloppily out of order) and look for the absolute first thing that has to be done on it—the very earliest deadline. I’ll write that thing down first.
Then I’ll look for the task that has to be done after that one, followed by the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc., in order of priority. If two tasks need to be done to meet a deadline on the same day, I’ll mark the one that’s due earlier in the day first, sorting the list down to the exact hour if need be.
I like doing this for a few reasons: First, it helps me sort out all my tasks in chronological order so I can work more effectively instead of choosing tasks at random. Secondly, as I work through the list, it gives me as much time as possible before the next deadline in case an emergency comes up, or if I get sick or some other urgent task requires my attention. Even if I’m only a few hours ahead, that little bit of time could mean the difference between a missed deadline and a bigger success.
Most importantly, though, writing out these Emergency Prioritizing Lists helps me sort through the chaos and ease my scattered brain, giving me a plan, and an order to work through the things I have to do.
Final Thoughts: Emergency Lists Are a Great Organization Tool
All told, I probably only use Emergency Prioritizing Lists once or twice a year when things get REALLY chaotic. Last week was one of those weeks, since I had a lot of small deadlines I was working through after my vacation and needed to keep track of them after a week away.
All told, if you’re making these kinds of lists (or feel the need to make them) too often, it’s probably a sign you have too much on your plate and need to clear your schedule a bit, either by working through your pile of stuff to do, or by letting go of things you planned on doing. Weeks when the workload feels overwhelming should be the exception, not the rule, and if it’s happening too often, it’s probably a sign you need to make a change.
For the rest of us, though, Emergency Lists can be an excellent tool to have at your disposal to help you get more done.
Cover ambulance photo cropped and used under Creative Commons 4.0 license.