The Disordered to-Do List

As you might have (since you're reading this), we've tried just about everything in the book when it comes to increasing productivity and efficiency: every methodology and piece of software that we could possibly get our hands on. What do almost all of them have in common? Well, aside from the fact that none of them seem to do the trick, many of them concern themselves a bit too much with the "process" of getting things done. While that's to be expected since the "process" is what these seminars and software products are selling, we think we can present to you a simple, fresh and perhaps unorthodox way of getting things done (with no strings attached).

But let's take a step back for just a moment because there are some prerequisites to this being a feasible productivity strategy for you. First and foremost you've got to be organized, but that you've gotten this far in this post probably means you are. Secondly (and this builds off the previous point) you should abhor disorder and clutter, which is to say it's not enough just to be organized! Thirdly, you shouldn't hold issue with being a task-oriented person at times (sorry fellow entrepreneurs, your goal-oriented glory doesn't hold up when you have to get work done). Lastly, you should pride yourself on maintaining thorough, consolidated, clean and organized to-do lists (this is the kicker)!

So what's this all about you say? It's simple: if you are the type of person described above, the only thing you should need to do to get things done is to create some disorder around the items you need to accomplish throughout the day. This becomes an interesting trick or hack because you are taking advantage of who you are in order to become more productive! Allow us to elaborate: instead of worrying yourself with creating to-do lists (which let's be honest, is where we all have spent most of our time in the past), anytime you have something to do just write it down anywhere that will be constantly in your face throughout each day. It can be a stack of sticky notes on your desk, a whiteboard nearby or (and our personal favorite) some text clippings on your PC's desktop. What this does is create disorder associated with things you need to get done, forcing your borderline OCD personality to actually complete the items since you desperately want to clean up that messy looking desktop! And that's all there is to it! Really. No strict rules to remember, no bloated software to bog you down and no seminars to attend. Right now you've got everything you need to start your own "disordered" productivity strategy. Throw some notes on your floor or on the bathroom mirror; anywhere that you'll see everyday and that will bother you enough for you to want to do something about it! Forget burying to-do list items in the bowels of some application on your computer and follow this one simple tip. It's done wonders for our productivity and we hope it can do the same for you!