There is nothing more frustrating than sitting down at the end of the day exhausted and realizing you didn’t accomplish a single thing you attempted to do. I know that feeling all too well. You start feeling frustrated, and unaccomplished, like you wasted your day putting out fires or just aimlessly scrolling social media.

I had to change something in my life. Here is how to make a daily to do list and set goals.

How to Make a Daily To Do List

I am very familiar with the daunting feeling of looking at your to do list and feeling overwhelmed. Those lists can get very extensive making you feel like you will never accomplish a thing in your life!

Here are some practical ways to make a to do list that you will actually finish every day.

Write Down Everything You Do

What I mean when I say write down everything is make sure you have on your to do list tasks that you do even as a routine daily.

If you work every day, that needs to be on the to do list. If you exercise every day, put it on the to do list.

Working eight hours a daily is a task that takes most of your day and if that’s what puts food on the table and pays the bills, it’s a task on the to do list. If you exercise every day, that takes up to one hour of your day. It’s a task that is worthy to be on the to do list. 

Download your free printable to do list that I personally use and love. I am sure you will love it as well. 

Be Realistic

After you write down your major to do’s for the day that you already had planned (work, exercise, appointments), do some quick math. If you spend eight hours working and exercise for 1 hour, that’s nine hours total. If you want to get eight hours of sleep, that leaves seven hours for everything else you would like to do. In those seven hours you will need to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, shower, rest and any other daily selfcare routines you have. So, maybe realistically you have five hours left in your day.

Now is when you ask yourself – “what do I want to do with my remaining five hours?” You can realistically plan your day now to match the time you have left in that day.

There was no crazy math going on here. Just a quick analysis of where you are spending your time.

Give Yourself Grace

There are a few words that come to mind when planning a to do list:

Burnout

Guilt

Shame

Giving Up

When we plan and fail to do all the things, we often think of ourselves as failures. I often did that.

My friend, let me tell remind you. YOU ARE HUMAN! You will not be 100% at all times. There will be off days, sick days. If you are a woman, hormones can get the best of you. If you are a mom, you know all the unexpected that can happen when you are a momma. If you are working, unexpected longer shifts can take over your to do list. Those are all realistic things that happen.

This is why you need to give yourself grace. Life is not perfect. Your to do list is only a guide. One day you will be able to accomplish all your things on that list and another day you didn’t have time because of one reason or another. And that’s ok!

Keep It Simple

I am not very detail-oriented naturally. Actually, details can overwhelm me. Having every minute planned stresses me out. I love flexibility and tweaking my plans for them to fit my day as I go.

If you are anything like me, you know the importance of keeping it simple. My to do list is small. It has no time slots. It almost looks empty. A few key points to direct me and off I go with my day.

I actually created my own To Do List Planner for that reason. 

Daily To Do Planner

Daily to do lists don’t need to be complicating. They are just a guide to your daily living. Live everyday with an open mind and heart and let this planner just guide you.