Growing up, I loved planning – fromtrips to restaurant orders, I always wanted to be prepared. But when I startedworking, I quickly learned that no amount of planning could stop the chaos of aconstantly changing to-do list.

It was quite a shock at first to beassigned new tasks randomly, even after I was already working on something elsefor the day. It definitely overwhelmed and stressed me out at the beginning. Ididn’t know what to prioritize. I would just look at my notes of what was askedfor me to do recently and hope for the best. I quickly learned the lack ofstructure and communication did not help. I wouldn’t remember what my projectmanager asked me to do or what was more urgent.

So, after discussing my new task, Istarted to quickly rewrite my messy notes and write them out as a neat list onanother page of my notebook. I would list tasks by priority or start with the quickest,smallest ones. And then when I started to work multiple different projects atonce, I began to categorize my list even further. The list always seemed towork for me, but I felt like sometimes it was hard to communicate what I neededto do or what I finished working on with my project manager.

And so, we tried once to make adigital to do list on OneNote. We categorized tasks by projects, buildings, andmore, so we could both contribute to the list. At first, it was really helpful!I had a list that could always be updated live, and I could check off what Ifinished working on. It worked for a couple of weeks, but the issue I had wasthat I kept writing out my physical list and forgetting to add to the digitallist. Therefore, the OneNote was never truly up to date, and I would only referto my notebook.

I wanted to give the digital another attempt,so I tried a sticky note app. I was able to place it at the corner of my screen,and it was visible at all times. It was nice to add tasks and remove them as I went;definitely made me feel like I was accomplishing things. However, once again, Iwould forget to update the list. Picking up my pencil was just easier for methan typing out what I needed to do.

After multiple trials and errors, Irealized that physically listing was the ideal way to manage and structure mydaily tasks. My days now start out with checking and filing emails, cleaning upmy downloads folder, and emptying my recycling bin. Then I read my list andstart working through them. If any tasks are added throughout the day; I justsimply add them to the list and continue forward. At the end of the day, Iwrite my daily check-in. Thanks to my list, I have a clear visual of what I’ve completedand what I need to work on for the next day. I’ve done this routine for morethan a year and it’s been the most efficient method for staying organized.

While I can’t always plan every detail of myday, I’ve learned how to create structure within the chaos of thisunpredictable field and that’s made all the difference.