Posts Categorized: Lists

Questions List

“The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.” – Claude Levi-Strauss What are the big questions in your life? In many ways, the level of success you will achieve is directly related to the number and the size of the questions you ask yourself and then choose to answer. I […]

Read More

Create a Fun List

Question of The Day: If you are not having fun, what are you doing instead? Life is busy and it is too easy to get overwhelmed with the many events, activities, and commitments everyone has. Many hard working individuals forget to take time to do the things they REALLY enjoy. It is hard to have […]

Read More

Stop List Redux

Question: What are your top three time wasters? Most people can identify these relatively easy and rank them from greatest to least. They often include both self-imposed activities (e.g. TV, Internet, Phone) and relationships (e.g. having the same 20-minute conversation daily, interruptions caused by unannounced visits by friends, family, peers, subordinates, and acquaintances). Once you […]

Read More

The Task List Magic Number

How many items should a good task list have? I really believe that 7 (plus or minus 2) is the best number. A ‘to-do’ list with 60 items will never get fully completed and one feels defeated when seeing 80% of the tasks as incomplete or not-yet-started at the bedtime. Besides, a big list encourages […]

Read More

Dreams List

This exercise takes about an hour; however, it is time very well spent. Creating your Dreams List will help clarify many of your life-long objectives. It is a good start to plan the next 30, 40, or 50 years of your life. The goal is to write down everything you would be, do, or have if […]

Read More

Your Roles List

When you meet someone for the first time, one of the very common questions is simply “what do you do?” This query really means the following: what do you do to earn your income? The expected reply would be to explain you are a primarily a butcher, baker, or candlestick-maker, etc. Yet, this response is […]

Read More

Projects List

What is a project? Some common definitions include any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted or a planned objective requiring concerted effort. These are both true and do capture the essence of ‘projectness’; nevertheless, as a pragmatist, I feel that fellow productivity expert David Allen offers a much more practical definition in his book […]

Read More

The Problem With To-Do Lists

Here is the main problem with To-Do Lists: they are a potpourri of goals, projects, and tasks. They can be psychologically counterproductive as many items remain on the list at the end of the day. For example, here is an example of some items on a to-do list: Lunch with Dave Call Susan Review the […]

Read More

Values List

Question: Who are you?  I do not mean your name. I mean your beliefs. What are the central values in your life? Create a list of top ten values. For example, many people list things such as God, Family, Wealth, Love, Health, Integrity, etc. Then rank this list. A Values List is useful for making decisions. […]

Read More

Create a Legacy List

This is new exercise I developed for someone who was having a hard time thinking of long term goals. Take a few minutes and consider these questions: You are 100 years old and on your deathbed. You have lived a full life and are satisfied with your personal and professional accomplishment. What legacy would you […]

Read More