#efficienct

[saamiyamohsin]

Why To-Do Lists Can Change the Way You Work and Live

In today’s busy world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with everything we need to do. From work tasks and school assignments to household chores and personal goals, our minds are often full of reminders and responsibilities. This is where a to-do list becomes a powerful tool. A to-do list is simply a written plan of tasks you need to complete, but its impact is much greater than it seems. It helps take the pressure off your memory by giving you a clear view of everything you need to accomplish. Instead of juggling thoughts in your head, you have a simple, visual plan to follow. This alone can reduce stress and help you feel more calm and in control throughout your day.

Beyond just organizing your tasks, a to-do list helps improve your time management. By listing out your tasks, you can arrange them based on priority—what needs to be done right away and what can wait. This allows you to focus on the most important things first, making your day more productive. It also helps prevent procrastination. Often, we avoid big tasks because they seem overwhelming, but writing them down and breaking them into smaller steps makes them easier to handle. And let’s not forget the satisfaction of checking off a completed task—it gives you a sense of progress and boosts motivation. Each small win keeps you moving forward, even on the busiest days.

Over time, the habit of using to-do lists can improve many areas of your life. It builds discipline, strengthens your planning skills, and helps you develop better routines. Whether you’re a student trying to stay on top of assignments, a professional managing multiple projects, or someone who just wants to stay organized at home, to-do lists can help you stay focused and reduce the chaos. They’re easy to create—whether on paper, a phone app, or even a sticky note-and take only a few minutes to set up each day. But the rewards are lasting. With a clear plan and a sense of direction, you’ll find it easier to reach your goals, stay balanced, and feel more in control of your time.

[davestone]

Email filters

Previously having blogged my approach to email, and my social media filter, what I've really wanted is a good place to share how one handles their mail—thus far, nothing exists.

Notes: 

if your companies address is being auto deleted, please fix your unsubscribe button.

some filters are split into multiple because you hit a character limit in Gmail.

Matches: "Unfuddle Notifications"  Do this: Skip Inbox

Matches: to:(builtbydave+notes@)  Do this: Skip Inbox, Star it, Apply label "Notes"

Matches: subject:("Alpha Invitation" OR "Alpha Invite" OR "Beta Invitation" OR "Beta Invite")  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Betas"

Matches: from:([email protected]) ("Dave Stone" AND ("updated the" OR "updated an" OR "created the" OR "attached a file named" OR "added a" OR "deleted the" OR "deleted an"))  Do this: Skip Inbox, Mark as read

Matches: from:(postmaster.twitter.com) following AND investor  Do this: Star it

Matches: from:(postmaster.twitter.com) following AND vc  Do this: Star it

Matches: from:(postmaster.twitter.com) following AND angel  Do this: Star it

Matches: from:([email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR zyngamail.com OR [email protected] OR @facebookmail.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR facebookappmail.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR cardscan.net OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR @network-notify.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: from:([email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Dating"

Matches: from:(netlogmail.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: from:([email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR wldemail.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR message-alert@ OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR foursquare! OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR *.ning.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR Slideshare OR Facebook OR [email protected] OR Last.fm OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: subject:("wants to share their location with you on Google Latitude")  Do this: Skip Inbox, Mark as read, Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: subject:("Lunch with") lunchster.com  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: from:(wordpress@) "Please moderate"  Do this: Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: subject:("Buzz from")  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Social"

Matches: from:([email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR @sandbox-network.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR emv2.net OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR @dmgworldmedia.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR venturenavigator-mail.co.uk OR newsletter@ OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR email.innocentive.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR mail.vresp.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Newsletters"

Matches: (list:"[email protected]" OR list:"weekly-events-list.eon.law.harvard.edu" OR list:"berkman-buzz-and-press-list.eon.law.harvard.edu" OR list:"special-events-list.eon.law.harvard.edu" OR list:"berkman-buzz-and-press-list.eon.law.harvard.edu" OR list:[email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Newsletters"

Matches: subject:Newsletter  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Newsletters"

Matches: to:([email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Newsletters"

Matches: subject:([uk-ecommerce] OR [uk-netmarketing] OR [viralmonitor] OR [arg_discuss] OR [lsc])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Lists"

Matches: to:([email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Lists"

Matches: (list:"zemanta-friends.googlegroups.com" OR list:"public-geolocation.w3.org" OR list:"bootcycle.googlegroups.com" OR list:"[email protected]")  Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "5) Lists"

Matches: from:([email protected])  Do this: Mark as read, Star it

Matches: "latest comment from" buzz  Do this: Star it

Matches: from:([email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox

Matches: from:([email protected]) subject:invoice  Do this: Skip Inbox, Star it

Matches: from:([email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Star it

Matches: subject:(list memberships reminder)  Do this: Skip Inbox, Delete it

Matches: (namesdatabase OR jhoos.com)  Do this: Skip Inbox, Delete it

Matches: from:(theitjobboard.co.uk OR [email protected] OR opinion-way.com OR viagogo.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR heartinternet.co.uk OR @PARSHIP.co.uk OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR @fanbridge.com OR @purevolume.com OR appliedlanguage.com OR filtrbox.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR mailman-owner@* OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR @yahoogroups.com OR @freshbusinessthinking.com OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected])  Do this: Skip Inbox, Delete it