Best Printable To-Do List Formats for Work and Home

The simple list: for everything at once

The plain to-do list template is for getting everything out of your head. Write every task down, big and small, without sorting. It works well as a master list that lives in a binder or on the desk. The trouble starts when the master list is also your plan for today: forty items is not a plan, it is a worry. So use it as the source, and pick from it.

Daily and weekly lists: for planning the time you have

A daily to-do list should hold what you can realistically finish today, usually three to six tasks plus any appointments. Write it the evening before, so the morning starts with something to do rather than deciding what to do. A weekly to-do list spreads tasks across the days and suits people whose week has a rhythm, such as office days and errand days. If the days are packed with meetings, add a time-blocking page and give the important tasks actual hours.

Priority lists: when everything feels urgent

When the list is long and everything shouts, sort it. The priority to-do list splits tasks into must, should and could. The task priority matrix goes a step further with the urgent-and-important grid: some tasks are urgent but not important and can be handed to someone else, and some are important but never urgent and get pushed back forever unless you schedule them. Ten minutes with the grid on a Monday morning often saves the whole week.

Task lists and checklists: for work and routines

At work, tasks need more columns: who owns it, when it is due and what state it is in. The task list has those columns, and for a project with many tasks the project task tracker adds hours and progress. Checklists are different again. They are for things you do the same way every time: opening the shop, the weekly report, cleaning before guests arrive. The daily checklist and weekly checklist cover routines, so you stop relying on memory.

A few habits that make any list work

1. Start each task with a verb. "Call the dentist to book a check-up" gets done; "dentist" sits there for weeks.
2. Keep today's list short. Finishing five out of five feels better, and is more productive, than finishing eight out of twenty.
3. Do the hard one first. Energy and attention are highest early in the day for most people.
4. Move unfinished tasks on purpose. If something moves three days running, break it into a smaller first step or drop it.