Personal & Life
To-Do List for Beginners: Dump Everything, Then Do Only 3 Things Today
Beginner | 2 whiteboard pages · Task board: 5 columns (4 parent tasks, 12 subtasks)
Beginner: No technical terms. Just answer the whiteboard's questions, following the examples, and it takes shape.
The to-do list template for beginners whose list never gets finished: first get every task out of your head, then narrow the day down to the 3 things you will actually do. The whiteboard runs from an Inbox frame that empties your head, to the 4 boxes Today's 3, This week, Someday and Waiting, a 4-column MoSCoW that picks today's 3 out of This week, the 5 steps of GTD, a clarify table that decides where each inbox item goes, 3 writing rules and a 10-minute Friday review. The task board has 5 columns - Inbox, Someday & waiting, This week, Today's 3, Done - with 4 parent tasks and 12 subtasks, all not started. If you are not sure how to write a to-do list, follow the three rules - start with a verb, do it now if it takes under 2 minutes, one action per card. When you cannot choose today's 3, split the 5 items in This week into Must, Should, Could and Won't, then take only 3 starting from Must.
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To-Do List Daily Three
How to use: (1) Dump every task out of your head into the Inbox → (2) Sort each item into the 4 boxes → (3) Every morning rank This week with MoSCoW and take only 3, starting from Must (frame 6 on the board) → (4) Review for 10 minutes on Friday
1. Get every task out of your head (Inbox)
- How to dump Set a 10-minute timer and write in the order things come up. No sorting and no priorities here.
- Work tasks e.g. send the quote / share the meeting notes / check the name on the invoice
- Home tasks e.g. buy a light bulb / book the dentist / post the insurance form
- Things merely on your mind e.g. redecorate the room / study English / review the budget Put them here too, even if they are not actions yet.
2. Today's 3
- e.g. send the quote (by 11am, 20 min)
- e.g. share the meeting notes (15 min)
- e.g. call the dentist (lunch break, 5 min)
- Pick them in 5 minutes each morning, tick them off in 5 minutes at night. Once 3 are full, the rest waits for tomorrow
3. This week
- e.g. check the name on the invoice
- e.g. post the insurance form
- Keep it to 5 items. A sixth one goes back to Someday
- Today's 3 is always chosen from this frame
4. Someday
- e.g. think about redecorating the room
- e.g. try a language learning app
- Home for anything without a deadline. Read it once a week
5. Waiting (on other people)
- e.g. waiting for the manager's approval (asked 28 Aug)
- e.g. waiting for the supplier's quote (due 1 Sep)
- Always add the date you asked and the deadline
6. Rank the 5 items in This week (MoSCoW = the classic way to set priorities. The top 3 under Must become Today's 3)
Must non-negotiable
- Someone is stuck if you skip it. It has a deadline or a promise e.g. send the quote (by 11am)
Should ought to do
- Late is survivable with an apology, but the value is high e.g. check the name on the invoice
Could nice to have
- It makes things better, but nothing breaks without it e.g. tidy up the meeting-notes format
Won't not this time
- Decide not to do it this week and send it back to Someday e.g. post the insurance form
7. The 5 steps of GTD (GTD = the classic method for getting tasks out of your head. Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect, Engage)
- 1. Capture Collect everything scattered across your head, paper and apps into the one Inbox. Judge nothing yet.
- 2. Clarify Item by item, decide what it is and what the next action is. Anything under 2 minutes gets done on the spot.
- 3. Organize Move it into This week, Someday or Waiting. Anything that is not an action gets filed as reference instead.
- 4. Reflect Spend 10 minutes on Friday going through the 4 boxes. Rewrite or delete whatever has gone stale.
- 5. Engage Choose the one thing to do right now, working down Today's 3 from the top.
8. Clarify (where does an inbox item go?)
| How to tell | Next action | Where it goes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No action needed | Not an action - reference or a someday wish | Bin it, or file it as reference | Someday e.g. think about redecorating |
| Under 2 minutes | Faster to do than to write down | Just do it on the spot | Never enters the list e.g. a one-line reply, a booking call |
| Over 2 minutes | Decide whether you do it or ask someone | Write one line starting with a verb. Add a deadline if you delegate | This week / Waiting e.g. send the quote |
9. Start with a verb
- e.g. not "Quote" but "Send the quote"
- A noun on its own costs you time remembering what to do
- Write it out to "check the ..." or "call ..."
- If someone else is involved, add the name. e.g. call Sarah
10. Under 2 minutes, do it now
- If it is faster to do than to write down, it never enters the list
- e.g. a one-line reply, confirming a date, a booking call
- When in doubt, try it for 2 minutes and then decide
11. One action per card
- e.g. not "Prepare the move" but "Look at 3 flats"
- Two things on one card means neither of them gets started
- For anything big, write down the first step only
12. Weekly review (10 minutes on Friday)
- Where the 10 minutes go 1) Clear Done (2 min) 2) Rewrite what is left (4 min) 3) Reread Someday (2 min) 4) Pick 5 for next week (2 min)
- Counting your week e.g. 11 of 15 done (3 a day x 5 days). Seven out of ten is good enough.
- Anything stuck for 3 weeks e.g. post the insurance form. If it has not moved in 3 weeks, drop it or cut it to the first step.
Task board contents
Inbox 16 items
Dump every task
The first move is not sorting, it is emptying your head. As long as tasks live in your memory, you keep paying to remember them.
Brain dump, 10 min
Set a 10-minute timer and write into the Inbox in whatever order things come up. No sorting and no priorities yet.
Gather all notes
Move everything scattered across your planner, sticky notes, notes app and messages to yourself into the one Inbox.
Check nothing left
Look again from three angles - work, home and things merely on your mind - and finish when nothing is still in your head.
Sort into 4 boxes
An inbox alone gets you nowhere. Decide the next action for each item and move it to Today's 3, This week, Someday or Waiting.
Do 2-minute tasks
Anything faster to do than to write down gets done on the spot and never enters the list. Short replies and booking calls belong here.
Keep 5 this week
Leave at most 5 items you will really start this week. A sixth one goes back to Someday.
Park waiting items
Move anything you cannot move yourself into Waiting, always with the date you asked and the deadline.
Run today's top 3
This is the daily heart of the board. Three items keep it obvious by the evening whether the day is finished or not.
Pick 3 each morning
Read This week from Must downwards and move exactly 3 items into Today's 3. There is no fourth. Takes 5 minutes.
Block the time
Write when you will start each of the 3 and how long it takes. On a day full of meetings, drop to 2 items.
Tick off at day end
Move what is done to Done, push the rest to tomorrow, and count how many you finished.
Friday 10-min check
The weekly stocktake. Skip it and the Inbox and Waiting boxes go stale, and you stop trusting the whole list.
Rewrite leftovers
Take what did not move this week and cut it down until each line starts with a verb. Takes 4 minutes.
Reread Someday list
Read the Someday frame top to bottom and decide what moves up to This week and what you drop. Takes 2 minutes.
Pick next week's 5
Choose up to 5 items for next week so Monday morning starts without hesitation. Takes 2 minutes.
