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Great news! You have a To Do list. One of the simplest and most useful tools of the organized is the list, and you're a step ahead if you're working on one. If you want to be more productive and get more things off that list faster, the following ten tips will help:

1. Get your space in order. Clutter and disorganization in your home or office can make you inefficient. If you can't find your To Do list among the receipts, magazines, and brochures on your desk you won't be able to complete your tasks or cross them off the list!

2. Prioritize tasks and apply your energy to them appropriately. It may not be worth it to drive two hours to get a good deal on a new flat screen TV. Your time is valuable, not to mention the gas in your car.

3. Don't let routine tasks such as laundry, cleaning dishes or mowing obscure your life's goals. It's easier to take care of repetitive, everyday things - it becomes automatic - but when you truly work out your priorities you may find that going back to school for your master's degree or starting that business is more important to you than always having a perfectly waxed car. Make sure you make time for the tasks that will help you reach your most important goals in life.

4. Break big projects in to digestible tasks and sub tasks. Little tasks are less intimidating and give you great satisfaction when you complete them.

5. Delegate. If you're the kind of person who must do everything yourself, you've already felt the pain of having WAY too much to do. Force yourself to trust some of your tasks to others. Bring in the right expert and let him do his job.

6. Re-evaluate often and be flexible. Don't feel you must complete tasks on your To Do list just because they're there. Revise your list regularly. Sometimes the more organized a person is the more rigid they become. They lose the ability to be spontaneous, or to take a different path. Keep an eye out for this tendency. It can suck the joy out of your life.

7. Don't get down on yourself. If you have a bad day, or week, or month, don't convince yourself you're not the type of person who can get things done. You can be who you want to be. It's no big deal to have non-productive intervals now and then.

8. Don't over commit. If you often take on too much at work, church or for your family, learn to inhale a deep breath before you automatically agree to any new commitment that jeopardizes completing your To Do list. Those few seconds can be all the time you need to realize you can't take on another task right now.

9. Get help. Sometimes worrying about how to complete a particularly difficult task can stop everything. At these times, enlist a friend, family member or professional to help get it done and off your plate.

10. Make things fun. Fill your bird feeder before raking your lawn. Make picking up your kid's room into a speed contest. When you eliminate the drudgery from your tasks, working on your To Do list can become something to look forward to.

Learn more about this author, Ginny Gassman.
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