To-do/Time Management Support Group

[Savannah]

I find myself in a position where I have a lot that I need to get done but lack hard deadlines (or have a deadline, but the work has to be spread over many days and I don't have deadlines for the subparts). In this position, I often find it useful to share my to-do list with others, so I have someone else to celebrate getting things done with and someone other than me to glare disapprovingly if I don't make progress.

Given this, I'd like to use this thread as a place where I and anyone else who benefits from sharing what they need to get done to share our to-do lists and encourage each other. (As an aside, you totally don't have to say what the items on your list are if some are too much personal information -- I'm not going to put the details on some and you're welcome to just list them as 'task a', 'task b', etc, as long as you remember what they stand for :smallwink:) Since to-do lists don't usually encourage much conversation, I'd also be interested in talking about organization/time management in general, if others are interested.

So, all that being said:
What I need to do (and by when):
Clean my apartment before going on vacation (Tues)
Vacuum before going on vacation (Tues)
Finish all my dirty dishes before going on vacation (Tues)
Do laundry before going on vacation (Tues)
Pack for vacation (Tues)
Run at least 6 sessions of a study with my dog (um...yesterday? :smalleek:)
Write poster based on above data for conference
Email people about my internship (three weeks ago :smallsigh:)
Fill out paperwork for internship
Register for internship
Email professor about a grade
Email other professor about meeting for project (Tues)
Email person about volunteering
Sign and send lease renewal
Call internet company
Design logo
Film for yt project
Write a page of Hero's Quest
Finish DL writeup for AoW

What I've done
Spend half an hour cleaning as much as possible -- I got rid of a months-old pile of stuff! (In less than 15 minutes :smallsigh:)
Started this thread...

[Grinner]

Will do!

http://imageshack.us/a/img824/6743/timemanagementr.png

And now it's a time management thread. :smallbiggrin:

[thubby]

the best advice i have is to do different kinds of things throughout the day. DO NOT try and clean your entire house in one go. it will just leave you tired, bored, and frustrated without accomplishing much.

also, do tasks that have turn-around first. you can put on laundry and send out emails, then do other stuff while the machines (or professors, basically the same thing) do their thing.

[Savannah]

Will do!

Substitute "read others' blogs about time management" and you'll know why I have so much trouble :smalltongue:


the best advice i have is to do different kinds of things throughout the day. DO NOT try and clean your entire house in one go. it will just leave you tired, bored, and frustrated without accomplishing much.

also, do tasks that have turn-around first. you can put on laundry and send out emails, then do other stuff while the machines (or professors, basically the same thing) do their thing.

Thanks, but I'm not looking for specific advice. I know what works for me and what I need to do to get stuff done. What I'm looking for is people to make me stop putting stuff off simply by being there (easiest job ever :smallwink:). Of course, if others are looking for specific advice, they're welcome to ask for it.

[thubby]

but doesnt being here mean your not, you know, doing stuff? and.. herlak. afagkjl;adg,
*stops*
there is a more elegant solution here.
*walks out*
*comes back with fire hose*
back to work you!

(note: my original post contained a comical list of my own, but it was eaten by the server gremlins)

[Grinner]

So, Savannah, what have you gotten done today?

[Savannah]

What I need to do (and by when):
Vacuum before going on vacation (Tues)
Finish all my dirty dishes before going on vacation (Tues)
Do laundry before going on vacation (Tues)
Pack for vacation (Tues)
Write poster based on data for conference
Email people about my internship (three weeks ago :smallsigh:)
Fill out paperwork for internship
Register for internship
Email professor about a grade
Sign and send lease renewal (20th)
Design logo
Film for yt project
Write a page of Hero's Quest
Finish DL writeup for AoW
Send in timesheets (Thr)
Mend pants (Tues)
Back up computer (Tues)
Shower (Tues)

What I've done
Clean my apartment before going on vacation
Run at least 6 sessions of a study with my dog
Email professor about meeting for project
Call internet company
Print boarding pass
Set up mail hold
Return books and CDs
Send IOA materials
Email person about volunteering

I'm not done with today yet, but I needed to add more todos and see what I had left.

[Lady Moreta]

Well, you've done most of what I was going to tell you to do (the emails, easy to get out of the way). So there you go, you've managed to do as you were told before I even told you to! (For the record, I have in the past, been the person who glared disaprovingly at Savannah.)

I should make use of this... except the only things on my current to-do list are
'dishes' and 'laundry', and I've done the dishes (save a few things that got missed that I cannot be buggered doing right now, I'll do them later) and the towels are currently in the washing machine... as I only have one washing machine, there's not much else I can do! Okay... I suppose I could do the order of service for church on Sunday... that needs to be done.

[Grinner]

What I've done
Clean my apartment before going on vacation
Run at least 6 sessions of a study with my dog
Email professor about meeting for project
Call internet company
Print boarding pass
Set up mail hold
Return books and CDs
Send IOA materials
Email person about volunteering

Hey, that's...what, a solid third of what you listed? Well done. :smallsmile:


I should make use of this... except the only things on my current to-do list are
'dishes' and 'laundry', and I've done the dishes (save a few things that got missed that I cannot be buggered doing right now, I'll do them later) and the towels are currently in the washing machine... as I only have one washing machine, there's not much else I can do! Okay... I suppose I could do the order of service for church on Sunday... that needs to be done.

Shall I hold you to it?

[Lady Moreta]

Shall I hold you to it?

Yes, absolutely. I'm leading and if I don't do it, then church will end up - rather odd. Plus, we're not in our actual church building at present, so 'doing the order of service' means not just writing the darn thing, but also doing up the slideshow (involving general welcome/housekeeping slides, and the lyrics to every song we're going to sing).

Savannah also told me to add something else to my list, and I thought of something else.


Wedding album (I decided to make our own, and I haven't touched it in a very long time)
Alphabet cross stitch - my church has begun the process of opening a child care centre in our suburb (hence why we're not in the building right now), and I am making a cross stitch for the centre as a gift, because I can. It doesn't have a real timeline, we're not sure when the centre is going to open other than 'June/July' but I'd like to have it done before then.

[Savannah]

Alphabet cross stitch - my church has begun the process of opening a child care centre in our suburb (hence why we're not in the building right now), and I am making a cross stitch for the centre as a gift, because I can. It doesn't have a real timeline, we're not sure when the centre is going to open other than 'June/July' but I'd like to have it done before then.


Ooh, what pattern?

What I need to do (and by when):
Write poster based on data for conference (Sun)
Fill out paperwork for internship
Register for internship
Email professor about a grade
Design logo
Film for yt project
Write a page of Hero's Quest
Finish DL writeup for AoW

What I've done
Vacuum before going on vacation
Finish all my dirty dishes before going on vacation
Do laundry before going on vacation
Pack for vacation
Email people about my internship
Sign and send lease renewal
Send in timesheets
Mend pants
Back up computer
Shower

So basically everything I needed to get done before I went on vacation is done (and then some) :smallbiggrin:

[Lady Moreta]

Tis this one. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bothy-Threads-Alphabet-Animals-Sampler/dp/B0062PKFHK) I've done most of the 'F', the 'G', and the 'H' (though not the actual heart), and the top part of the 'K', the 'L' (well the lion's head at least) and the top part of the 'M' (and the left side of the mermaid's hair). I'm almost finished that page of the pattern, only seven more to go!