What are tips on how to make an effective to-do list—one I know that has tasks I’ll be able to achieve?

Instead of a To Do list, this year I made a Things You Can Do list instead. (This list is in a basic notes app on my phone so I always have access to it, and can update and edit it easily.)

I dumped everything that was on my mind onto the list, and added new tasks to it as new thoughts occurred.

Having hundreds of tasks that I have To Do gave me anxiety, so I renamed the list to Things I Can Do to help reframe it and remember I can choose to do things when I have the time and energy, and when a task becomes urgent. I recognize that it’s a living list, and that I will work on it over time.

Periodically, I sort tasks and put headings to group similar things together. Emojis also help visually identify certain items or groupings of tasks.

As I complete tasks, I put a ✅ in front of it. At the end of the day, I move completed items to the bottom of the list, under a heading of “DONE – September 2019” where I have a record of what was done that month.

Each month, I tally how many things I did that month, and put the total next to the month heading. Even though I didn’t do everything, I still feel good about seeing all that I did accomplish.

Then I add a new heading in the Done section for the next month’s completed tasks.

I hope this helps. Good luck figuring out a system that works for you!