How to make a 5-step to-do list for truly effective task organization?

By Fabien Paupier & Emma Gil

Published: November 14, 2024

The to-do list is a simple and particularly effective tool for managing your to-do list. Organize, sort and prioritize your tasks... How can you make a good to-do list to put an end to procrastination, and finally cross your tasks off your list?

This article answers that question with top tips and a selection of to-do list apps to restore your peace of mind. Take the time to read this article, then cross that to-do off your list! 😉

See all software Project Management

To do list: 1 definition, 8 interests

"To do" means "to do" in English. A to-do list is therefore a list of things to do. By extension, the to-do list is associated with minimalist task management, designed to be simple to implement and effective in achieving expected results.

Making to-do lists has a number of benefits, including :

No more forgetting what needs to be done.
Knowing where you stand in relation to your to-do list and day-to-day tasks.
Having a clear idea of what needs to be done.
Be efficient in your personal organization.
Keep track of what's been done so you can report on it.
Break down work or projects into smaller, more manageable tasks.
Improve team organization by allocating tasks.
Stop procrastinating. Procrastination is putting off until later what you can do today.
In a professional context, it is above all collective productivity and serenity that are sought.

How to make an effective to-do list? 5 key tips

Tip 1: Break down the tasks on your list

Identify and separate the quick tasks from the hard work, and balance the workload they represent.

Sure, it's nice to cross off tasks and the sense of accomplishment is much stronger, but you also need to spend time on the time-consuming tasks, because they're the ones that take you far and give you a long-term vision.

💡 To keep the pleasure of ticking off tasks done, break the work down into smaller tasks (crossing off = pleasure = motivation to keep going).

Tip 2: Prioritize important tasks

Define, for each day, at most one priority task, several secondary tasks and small, low-priority tasks.

Example:

Priority task: do the month's accounts;
Secondary tasks: replenish stock and change prices on the website;
Small tasks: emptying the garbage cans, watering the plants, buying post-its.

Prioritizing tasks is essential. Use a simple method: position tasks on a matrix with two axes: gain and effort. It is then recommended to prioritize tasks in green, and those in red last:

Tip 3: Estimate time and effort

In the Agile Scrum project management method, it's advisable to estimate how much time you're going to spend on a task. This helps to prioritize tasks and to know what is reasonably possible to do in a day or a week.

For example, in a 7-hour working day, it's possible to do one 4-hour task and 2 1.5-hour tasks.

ℹ️ It's a good idea to set aside between 10% and 20% of your day to deal with unforeseen events, which also gives planned tasks a better chance of being completed.

Tip 4: Focus on achievable tasks

It's counter-productive to impose on yourself tasks that require more resources and time than you have.

Another common mistake is to put goals on your to-do list instead of an action plan (to do = things to do, not goals to achieve).

Example: "pass my exam" is a goal. It's better to focus on 4 achievable tasks, such as: buy the book, read the book, practice, take a mock exam.

Tip 5: Create a pleasant, visual to-do list

Pay as much attention to the form of your to-do list as to its content: colors, for example, are a good way of quickly identifying the importance or urgency of a task, or the person responsible for a task in the case of teamwork.

The Kanban board can also be used to visualize the progress of tasks, from creation to completion (from left to right).

Last but not least, group together tasks that you feel should be done consecutively, to boost productivity.

Sample to-do list for free download (Excel)

Excel lets you list tasks neatly, filter them and search for a task quickly. Here's a sample to-do list in Excel format for free download:

Please note: it is very complicated to detail tasks without disrupting the readability of the file. Excel is suitable for small jobs, but quickly shows its limitations.

Which to-do list application should you choose? Selection of 9 task management software

If a to-do list in paper or digital Excel format isn't enough for you, we suggest some to-do list software to manage your tasks (and much more!) collaboratively and on the move.

Asana

Asana benefits: the free version is sufficient for the vast majority of uses, Asana is fast, ergonomic and highly functional. Asana integrates very well with Google Calendar and Gmail, and is particularly suited to teams looking for productivity, collaboration and modern project management. The paid version offers excellent centralization of platform administration and task templates.
Disadvantages: none
Users: startups, freelancers, and all teams looking for organization and productivity.
Mobile application: yes
Origin: United States

Azendoo

Azendoo advantages: to-do list import, polls, private messages, perfect ergonomics, French editor
Disadvantages: rather high price compared to competitors
Users: VSEs, SMEs and large corporations looking for greater productivity and collaboration
Mobile application: yes
Origin: France

Beesbusy

Advantages of Beesbusy :
- simple to-do lists ;
- customizable Kanban view with drag and drop and filters;
- a single click to create a task ;
- no settings required;
- free account creation with as many tasks, projects and users as you like.
Disadvantages: to benefit from all the features (such as schedules and Gantt), you need to opt for the business package, but at an affordable, sliding-scale price.
Users: from entrepreneurs to large groups, in all sectors of activity; particularly suited to corporate support functions and project managers who wish to involve diverse teams (with varying levels of project management) in collaborative projects.
Mobile application: yes
Origin : France

Google Keep, in the Google WorkSpace suite

Advantages of Google Keep: easy to use. Combines note-taking and list management. Designed for jotting down a good idea or important things on the fly. Integrates with the complete Google WorkSpace suite (Chat, Calendar, Docs, Meet, etc.).
Disadvantages: too simplistic for professional use with a large number of tasks.
Users: for everyone
Mobile application: yes
Origin: United States

monday.com

Advantages of monday.com: Fun, intuitive and fully customizable dashboards that let you track the progress of your tasks and projects in real time. Efficient task management: define milestones, priorities and statuses according to your needs. Assign tasks, set deadlines and receive automated notifications - a flexible, made-to-measure to-do list!
Disadvantages : Limited functionalities for the "Basic" subscription, risk of high price for large groups.
Users: adaptable to all types of organization (start-ups, VSEs, SMEs and large groups).
Mobile application: yes
Origin: Israel

Todoist

Todoist's advantages: the free version is sufficient for the vast majority of uses: checklist, geolocalized notifications, iCal synchronization, automatic detection of structured information ("water the plants every week" will be detected as a recurring task)
Disadvantages: not easy to prioritize tasks
Users: startups, freelancers, and all teams looking to improve organization and productivity
Mobile application: yes
Origin: United States

Trello

Trello's advantages: the price and the highly visual Kanban board, which replaces the Gantt chart ill-suited to collaborative uses; the ergonomics are perfect.
Disadvantages: more suited to project management than to a to-do list.
Users: startups, VSEs, creative agencies (web design, marketing, etc.)
Mobile application: yes
Origin: United States

Wimi

Wimi's advantages: extensive functional coverage including document management, calendar, audio/video chat and project management (planning tool).
Disadvantages: oversized for to-do lists only, but excellent for team collaboration
Users: VSEs, SMEs and large groups looking for efficiency without compromising on data control
Mobile application: yes
Origin: France

Wunderlist

Advantages of Wunderlist: price first and foremost, as the free version is very comprehensive and the paid version very competitive. What's more, the Wunderlist checklist manager has a downloadable version for all devices, even the Apple Watch!
Disadvantages: for professional use, Wunderlist doesn't go far enough.
Users: startups, VSEs, freelancers
Mobile application: yes
Origin: Germany (Wunderlist was acquired by the American company Microsoft)