Have a List... With your Coffee

Here at Chillybean we live by our lists. We make lists every single day and make lists to make other lists. Every morning we make our coffee and a daily list to keep us on task. In order for us to keep up with our events and projects a list is the only way we are able to remember specific information we need. Lists are just a great way to keep up with your daily tasks and holding yourself accountable.

We thought we would share some of our fun list making tips with you guys to hopefully stimulate a positive reaction and help make our Chillybeaners more productive! These are five tips we live by when making our lists:

1. Start Early

At Chillybean we start our day early. We get up, make our coffee and write our daily to-do lists down. It’s best to organize your thoughts in the morning so that you know exactly how you want you day to go. Make sure you make time for your morning coffee and list making, if only for ten minutes. Even consider making these lists while eating breakfast!

Gather your thoughts before the day starts, relax and get organized. You’ll find the day will go by smoother if you plan beforehand.

2. No more than Five

Recent studies show that for a daily to-do list you should have no more than five things. Your brain will appreciate this, looking down and seeing twelve things on your list could make you overwhelmed and feel stressed. This makes sure that your list is realistic and those five things can definitely be accomplished in the same day. If you are able to finish those five things by noon, create another to do list or get started on the list for the next day.

3. Have Goals

While writing down a weekly list, write down your goals as well, like getting to the gym three times a week or making time for meditation on Thursday. Writing these goals down you will feel more fulfilled once you have accomplished them. Goals are so important to implement in our daily lives because it shows progress, you are investing and working on yourself.

4. Least & Most Important

While creating your mornings lists establish what is most important and what is least important. Use symbols like a star for most important and a heart for least important. This will allow you to understand what needs to get done that day without question and what could wait for tomorrow if need be. This will prevent getting behind on bigger tasks and procrastinating the important things.

You can also establish what will take up most of your time. One task may be easy (like paying bills) but time consuming. Establishing what will take up most of your day and if it is important so that you can plan your other tasks around it. I have to go to the bank and the store, I can stop by the bank on my way because that is a quick task and can be punched out quickly, that way I can have more time for paying bills.

5. Daily vs Weekly

Also in making a weekly list write down only five things. Plan to get one of these things done each day. Every week will feel more rewarding and satisfying having finished these fewer things than not being able to finish your long lists of tasks.

If you have more than five things that need to get done, spread out your lists by times or days, this will ensure you are still able to get everything done!

Share your morning list with us accompanied by your coffee on Instagram #chillybeanlist . We are excited to see what you can accomplish!