Creating a to-do list has been a part of my daily life for a long time. I like to start my day by making my list. It taps into my thoughts and centers me because it gives me focus for the day. I’ve found that when I skip my to-do list, I tend to do a lot less because I don’t know where to start. On the other hand, there have been times when my to-do list was so huge that I didn’t know where to start. That’s when I learned about the power of five.

Check marks do not equate to doing things.

Every day, I used to fill almost an entire page of a notepad with things I “needed” to do. I would sit and think of every conceivable task that I thought needed to be done and write it down. For some reason, a longer list made me feel good. It made me feel like I had a lot to do. The problem was that it was too much.

The first thing I started to notice was that about half of my to-do list was filled with routine activities: brush my teeth, clean the bathroom, do the dishes, do the laundry. These were regular daily tasks, but they go right over my to-do list. I quickly learned that by removing them from my list, I could easily cut them in half, if not more. Sure, being able to check those things off my list every day felt good (because I look as if I had achieved something), but was it really necessary? No. I quickly realized that all I was doing was doing more work for myself.

How I made my to-do list sandwich.

Since I love food, I decided to take a different approach to doing my daily to-do list. I decided to create a “sandwich” of task lists, one that would be more doable. I was a bit worried about narrowing my lists down to shorter ones. It felt wrong, but I tried it anyway.

What I found was that by compressing my lists, I actually started doing more than ever before. The shorter my lists were, the more productive I became. Here’s how the to-do list sandwich method works:

  • Bread- The most difficult and time consuming task
  • Mayonnaise- 10-15 minute homework
  • Ham- Task next to the most difficult
  • Lettuce – 15-30 minute homework
  • Bread- simpler task

First, create an abbreviated task list. Then start with the most difficult or longest task. Then follow up with a quick task that requires little to no effort. Move on to the next challenging or time consuming task, move on to another quick and short task. Finally finish the to-do list sandwich with another simple task.

Quick tip: Be careful with your easy tasks among the more difficult ones. These are the ones you should use a timer with to avoid wasting time.