Productivity Tips to Finish Your To-Do List Faster

Introduction

To-do lists can be frustrating when it seems that they never end. Whether there are things around the house that need done or a ton of errands and tasks that need to be done outside of the home, sometimes your to-do list might get out of hand and feel like an impossible mountain of things you need to accomplish. Rather than stressing over the completion of your to-do list, take a look at these productivity tips to finish your to-do list faster!

Prioritize Must-Do Items

Rather than trying to get everything done at once, it can be helpful to prioritize your must-do items. The way you prioritize things is up to you. Some people like to start on the big tasks first so they’re out of the way but sometimes there are smaller tasks that need to happen sooner. Knowing your list is going to be really important here.
 
“Write down all fo your items you need to accomplish,” says Jae Pak, Founder of Jae Pak MD Medical. “While it can be overwhelming to see the massive list on a piece of paper, it’s often really helpful in prioritizing. When you can see everything at once, you can start to break it down into things that have urgent deadlines and things that you’d like to accomplish but life will go on if it’s not done this week. This can take your stress levels down and help you move through tasks more efficiently too.”

Pick an App

Did you know there are apps out there designed to help you schedule out your to-do lists? These are great options for people who are on-the-go and don’t keep a physical to-do list with them. Using an app also allows you to connect your to-do list with your calendar and stay organized.
 
“It seems silly to put things like vacuuming your kids carseats into your calendar, but sometimes that’s what needs to happen to make sure you remember to stop on your way home rather than having to drive out to the car wash and vacuum station again,” says Asker A Ahmed, Director of iProcess Global Research. “Using an app or calendar (or both) to schedule out your to-do list can help you avoid overwhelming yourself and keeping an eye on the big things that you’re working toward accomplishing.”

Keep an Eye on the Days Ahead

Rather than waiting until the morning of each day to look at what’s on the schedule, keep an eye on the days that are coming up. Sometimes, there are things on your to-do list that you’ll need to prepare for a day or so in advance. 
 
“If you’re using an app or calendar, it can be helpful to set multiple alerts for a to-do item”, says Drew Sherman, VP of Marketing at Carvaygo. “Set one a few days out and one the day of so you don’t forget things. This is helpful for things like when you run to the store and need to make sure you pack your reusable bags that morning before work or you remember to bring that item you want to return to a store that’s near your work. Adding notifications can help you be more efficient which will help you finish your to-do list faster.”

Schedule Breaks

This might seem counterproductive to finishing a to-do list faster, but incorporating breaks into your to-do list plans can help you refresh yourself before the next task. This is especially helpful when the tasks on your list are physically or mentally draining.
 
“If you’re doing something like grabbing groceries or mailing a package, you probably don’t need a break,” says Rachel Roff, Founder and CEO of Urban Skin Rx. “But if you’re mulching the flower beds or filing taxes it might not be a bad idea to schedule a break or two during the day to do nothing or do a lighter task on your to-do list while you recover. Pushing yourself too hard on the more demandin to-do items can actually make the task take longer.”

Break Down Tasks

There are some tasks on a to-do list that take a lot more time than others. It can be discouraging to spend hours doing a task well and only cross one item off of your list. A lot of people also lose motivation as they’re doing this task because the end goal seems so far away. Breaking down the tasks to smaller goals can help you stay motivated and keep moving forward.
 
“Rather than putting ‘clean bedroom’ on your to-do list, break it down a bit,” says George Fraguio, Vice President of Bridge Lending at Vaster Capital. “List ‘put away clothes’, ‘organize closet’, ‘pick up floor’, and ‘vacuum room’ as separate items on the list. Realistically, cleaning your room is a multiple step process. Write out the steps to keep yourself motivated and focused on one task at a time so you can finish your to-do list faster.”

Find an Accountability Buddy

If you have some things on your to-do list that you’re really NOT looking forward to, it can help to have an accountability buddy to keep you on track with your goals. As you work through your to-do list, let your accountability buddy know when to check in about certain things and you’ll be surprised how much faster you finish your to-do list.
 
“Peer pressure is a real thing,” says Max Schwartzapfel, CMO of Fighting For You. “Whether it’s a friend, roommate, or partner, it can be helpful to have someone cheering you on and checking in with you on your progress. Having someone who knows what you’re trying to accomplish makes it less likely you’ll put off those less than desirable tasks on the list so you’ll finish your to-do list faster.”

Revise When Necessary

Your to-do list doesn’t have to be set in stone. If you’re taking your time to do your tasks well, some things may take longer than expected. Also, sometimes other things come up that get in the way of accomplishing your personal to-do list so it’s important that you don’t get discouraged and give up because an original deadline wasn’t met.
 
“It is easy to toss aside an item you didn’t get to before your original deadline,” says Karim Hachem, VP of eCommerce at La Blanca. “But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done at all. Reschedule and revise your to-do list and goals so you can continue to make your way through the list. Sometimes a task on the list has to be bumped down in priority or it might take longer than anticipated - but that’s okay!”

Don’t Try To Multitask

While you may initially feel like multitasking helps you finish things on your to-do list faster, it really tends to slow things down. Studies have shown over and over again that multitasking doesn’t actually equate to higher efficiency or quicker task completion.

“Multitasking not only doesn’t work in terms of efficiency, but it’s a really good way to make your stress levels go up while trying to accomplish things on your to-do list,” says Rachel Blank, Founder and CEO of Allara Health. “Multitasking often leaves you overwhelmed and feeling like you’re swimming upstream because you won’t progress in your tasks as quickly as you’d like to. Focus on one thing at a time and forget the idea of multitasking and you’ll finish your to-do list faster.”

Remove Distractions

While it can be great to listen to music or have a podcast playing in the background while you work through your to-do list, sometimes that can be distracting. What’s even more distracting are devices like phones and televisions that people often leave within eyesight as they’re working on things. Here’s a productivity tip for finishing your to-do list faster when it comes to distractions:
 
“Put away your phone, turn off the tv, and remove other distractions as much as you can,” says Ryan Rottman, Co-Founder and CEO of OSDB Sports. “It’s so easy to get sucked into a show or start scrolling through social media. If you’re working through tasks that require the use of your phone or computer, be very mindful of the websites you’re visiting and the tabs you have open. Make sure you’re not distracting yourself with anything while working on your to-do list so you can accomplish things faster.”

Reward Yourself For a Job Well Done

This sounds juvenile, but reward yourself for accomplishing tasks. Whether that means you’re going to grab a snack, coffee, or scroll on your phone for a bit, reward yourself at the end of each task on your to-do list to motivate yourself to accomplish things faster.
 
“It’s amazing what a little motivation can do when it comes to a reward system and your to-do list,” says Sumeer Kaur, CEO of Lashkaraa. “While you might think ‘having a clean house is my reward for cleaning it’, sometimes adding in an additional reward of inviting some friends over for lunch or enjoying a nice bubble bath can make that task much easier to get through because you have a fun or relaxing activity waiting for you at the end.”

Conclusion

To-do lists aren’t always fun. It can be difficult to motivate and push yourself to accomplish things when it feels like there is no end in sight. Instead of overwhelming yourself or feeling like progress isn’t happening, try using some of these productivity tips to finish your to-do list faster. Hopefully this article has inspired you with new ideas to use in the future as you accomplish your next to-do list!

Alpeio, K. (2021, October 11). I tried 4 to-do list methods. here's what worked. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2021/01/i-tried-4-to-do-list-methods-heres-what-worked

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Multitasking: Switching costs. American Psychological Association. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking