Pimp Your To Do Lists!
As a life-long list obsessive, one of the biggest attractions of the Bullet Journal system was its rapid list-making element.
I always have a list on the go… usually multiple lists! How the heck does anyone get anything done without one?!!
My List Process
Each month, after my monthly spread, I create a master to-do list for the month. Then I migrate tasks from this master list into my weekly and daily spreads as appropriate. Having this master list really helps me “brain dump” everything I want to achieve at the beginning of the month, including both the priority items that I will likely get done first, along with the lower priority items that might get forgotten.
Not long into Bullet Journaling I started making my to-do lists much more interesting and fun by adding in games or challenges. These games create additional rewards by giving you the satisfaction of ticking something off or colouring something in!
Here are my most used to-do lists, with details of how you can create them yourself…
1. Tetris To-Do List
The Tetris to-do list works by assigning each item on your list a number between 1 and 7. Each Tetris piece is also assigned a number. When you check off an item on the list, you add a Tetris piece with the corresponding number to the “game”. This is a really fun way of challenging yourself to get items on your list completed, based on what shape you need to add to the game… especially those that you might not otherwise prioritise. I use my Tetris bookmark stencil to quickly and easily draw the Tetris pieces, and then I add colour with my Tombow Dual Tip pens.
2. Pac-Man To-Do List
The next style I like to use is the Pac-Man to-do list. I create a Pac-Man game as a border around the page using my 80s icon stencil. Every time an item is checked off of your list, Pac-Man eats two dots or pieces of fruit (represented by colouring them in). The idea is to complete all of the items in the list and therefore colour in all the dots and fruit!
3. Jigsaw To-Do List
Another fun idea is a Jigsaw to-do list. I draw a box taking up approximately half a page in my journal. In this I add a simple design/picture of some sort. (In the picture above I’ve drawn a cactus design). Then I draw a jigsaw design over the top of this image using my 80s icon stencil. For every item checked off of the to-do list, I colour in a piece of the jigsaw. Wanting to get the jigsaw finished drives me to get things done on the list!
4. Kaleidoscope To-Do List
The final idea is the Kaleidoscope to-do list. This involves drawing a circle and dividing it into segments using the circle tracker stencil. I create a corresponding number of segments to the number of items on my to-do list. The segments are coloured in one at a time whenever an item is checked off the list. Therefore the only way to complete the rainbow is to complete the whole list!
You can watch me talk through these 4 to-do lists, plus a few more, in the video below…
What I really love about the Bullet Journal system is that the variations are only limited by your imagination! I’d really love to see more ideas to “pimp your to-do list” so fee free to tag me on Facebook or Instagram @OopsaDaisyUK with the hashtag #PimpYourToDoList.