I know what I need to do; why do I need to write it down? You may have fallen into the trap of thinking this way. And hey, if it works for you, thats great!
I find, however, that many people with too much to do, or with large projects looming in front of them get into a state of complete overload because they havent prepared themselves by keeping very simple action-item lists.
Whats an Action-Item List?
There are many kinds of lists, and each is useful in its own way. A list can range from 100 things I want to do before I die to a list of reasons that you want to stay in your current career (hopefully you have 100 reasons for that, also.)
Here is my definition of an action-item list:
An action-item list consists of discrete actions, broken down into the smallest reasonable behavioral steps that you need in order to finish a project (or even a portion of a project.)
A Peek Inside Your Brain
Lets say that you are a writer who has just gotten back an article you had submitted to an editor. You intend to begin at the beginning and just start revising. Unfortunately for many of us, our brains dont function well in this...