When there seem to be endless tasks and never enough time to accomplish it all, you can feel overwhelmed. But increasing your productivity is possible.  Here’s how

Leverage Lists

“I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.”

— Golda Meir

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”

— Michael Altshuler

Want to improve your productivity? The to-do list is your first step. How can you take it from an unintelligible scribble on the back of a crumpled receipt to a blueprint for your day?

“Research shows that writing by hand helps us pay more attention to information. Write your to-do lists by hand,” says Mrs. Rifka Schonfeld, Director of Strategies for Optimum Success.

Despite often being surrounded by phones, computers, and servers, Moshe Eisenberg, COO of NakiRadio, uses a pen and notepad all the time. “If you have an idea, its’s so much easier to put thought to paper, rather than take out your phone, open a note, and type in a neat, formatted line,” he says. “Sometimes I convert it into an email reminder.” This system has an added benefit when talking face-to-face with people — it’s far more socially acceptable to jot something down than to take out your phone.

“I buy packages of 12 reporters’ notebooks, and my kids know these are my brain,” says Rachel Bachrach, one of the busy editors at Mishpacha. “I call it ‘The List,’ with a capital T and a capital L. I once lost a notebook and called my husband in tears; I’d lost part of my brain!”

“One page of the notebook serves as a shopping list for the regular grocery store; I add to it as things come up. Another page is for specific stores, such as Costco or Target. I live out of town, so a third is a list for when we go to NY or someone comes here and asks what they can bring. Page four is things I need for each kid — Yonatan shorts, Azriel shoes, Aliza headband for her orange Shabbos jumper, Yael t-shirts, etc. Five is the week ahead, based on my calendar.

“I also have a Chai Lifeline calendar, and it’s my other brain. I copy what’s scheduled for the week into my List, allocating a few lines for each day of the week, things like appointments, deadlines, or carpool — all the things I must do so the house doesn’t go to pot.”

Not all tasks are created equal. “Separate the tasks you want to accomplish and those that need to be accomplished into two separate lists. Or you could create a list that starts with the most pressing things and decreases in importance as the list continues,” suggests Hadassah Levin, LCSW. “This will make it easier for you to prioritize tasks and avoid the distraction of non-necessities. It will also let you end the day feeling productive, having taken care of urgent tasks.”

“It’s helpful,” Sari Verschleiser, certified life coach and career counselor, points out, “to remind yourself that whilst you would love to get the entire list done, you’re not a failure if that doesn’t happen.”

“Visual components can add a huge boost to our ability to accomplish,” says Avigail Kemmoun, MS. BCBA, COBA of the Advanced Behavioral Therapy agency. “A visual picture task list isn’t just for kids. Also, always mark tasks as done; in my experience, visually seeing your progress can provide an inner drive to keep moving forward with energy.”