Talk 'to-do' lists with Aviva - you could win £150 worth of high street vouchers. NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at Aviva to find out about your probably very long to-do list maybe it's on the fridge, on your phone or all in your head?

What's been on your to-do list forever and you've so far managed to avoid ticking off? What's your strategy for managing an ever-growing to do list? What impact did having children have on the list? Or, have you managed to tick something off? How did it make you feel?

Aviva says "With such busy lifestyles it's no surprise that families use lists to keep on top of things. However there's a temptation to focus on things we like doing, which can mean really important jobs stay on the list. Taking a little time to prioritise the things that are most important to your family's future and ticking them off could really benefit your family in the long run."

So please share your thoughts below - everyone who adds a comment below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £150 worth of high street vouchers.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

PS Please note your comments, anon of course, may be used by Aviva on MN and possibly elsewhere.

I'm definitely a list person, it keeps me from getting stressed. I keep them short and manageable now though otherwise they seem overwhelming which is counter-productive. We had a list a page of A4 long (with three columns) to do before Dd2 was born and it just felt neverending.

And yes to breaking big jobs down into smaller tasks, easier to see some progress then.

My friends call me the List Lady! I have a list for everything. In fact I never leave home without a list. Food shopping list, usually divided into shops. Present buying list, in month order. Cleaning list for chores, room by room. DIY list of jobs that need doing around the house, room by room, in priority order. Work task list, daily on my desk. Christmas list. Voucher codes/bargain/sales list. Appointments list (dentist, nurse, hospital, hairdressers etc). I am also compiling my family tree so that's a whole new level of lists! I just love a good list!

I make my to-do list in my diary almost every day. I don't do it first thing in the morning because there's already a plethora of things that need seeing to at the start of the day but once all the regular tasks are out if the way, I make a list do I can focus on my day.

My to-do list has sections. There's a section for paperwork, phonecalls and work related tasks that need seeing to. Then a section for today's chores that are left over and I need to organise into my day. I also make sections for other things to fit into my day besides chores and tasks such as making time to fit in extra prayers, spending time with my mum, calling a friend I haven't spoken to in a while, buying myself something, reading a book I've intended to for a while if looking up the answer to a particular question that's been swirling around my mind, etc.

My lists help me focus and prioritise. They also help me to avoid feeling overwhelmed by how much I have to do inbred day. Once I write it out and allocate a time for it, it all seems manageable. I tend to end up ticking off about 70% of my list. That's enough for me. Living a full life like I do, there are always going to be things that I don't get done at the end of the day. Although I write them out, I'm realistic about my list and don't beat myself up about anything that's not done.

There are a few things that are on my list that have grown comfortable there and refuse to budge. :) I intended to change my DS's Childs Trust fund provider a few weeks after it was opened when he was just a few months old. He's now approaching his 11th birthday and I still haven't managed it!

I use my phone and diary to note all the things I need to do including appointments. They are always in my bag. I set reminders in my phone so am alerted by an alarm.

Reminders include:
Paying dd's school dinner fees
Dd's birthday invitations
Calling a friend
Hospital appt
Defrost chicken

Dh does not utilise his phone/diary so relies on me to keep him up to date.

I tend to only do lists when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have to do. Especially when it comes to housework. I like to list every job that needs doing, and put the expected time next to it. So, for example, I'll put 8.00 - 9.00 - Clean kitchen, incl. tidying cupboards & washing floor.
It helps me focus on one thing at a time and breaks the work down into manageable chunks.

At work, I use lists to help me prioritize if I have lots of things to do that seem equally important/urgent. If I list each job, I can then go through and number them in order of urgency.

I always write lists down on a fresh piece of lined paper. Putting them on my phone doesn't work so well for me.

I keep a book in my bag which mainly contains lists of assignments and coursework that I need to complete, then home and dc's to do lists are in a big diary in the kitchen so that we can glance at it as we go past.

I tend to make lists then fail to read them. If it's really important it gets written in my paper diary in my handbag which is handy for planning ahead. I get irritated by stand alone to-do lists as I rarely finish them and that just annoys me.

I don't write to do lists for myself. It's all in my mind.

I do write lists for DH and DS1 though, who are both very forgetful.

I have lots of to do lists.
I have one that is sitting on the kitchen side and has all the immediate things to do -eg pay x bill, school trip money to be in, make opticians app etc-this gets scored through most days but never completely done!

I also have lists for big things like Christmas -actually I have a what we call the BOC (book of Christmas!) which has lists of everything planned to buy, what has been bought, budgets, xmas card lists -as we have 3 xmas birthdays so there is a lot of planning and spending around December.

I think I would probably be a wee bit lost without my lists.

I too love to do lists. I also really love the paper pad to do lists that split the week into days so you can write things by day. I also always have a tick off pre printed list for groceries. Lists for holidays etc.

I do find that I am constantly moving stuff forward from one week to the next.

It would be great if we could have a to do list that comes with the product you buy, so for house insurance maybe a list of things to do through the year eg clear gutters in September, have boiler serviced etc. It would have been really handy to have been reminded by a list to take the keys to the holiday house when I last went on holiday! Or to check have all of the families passports (and not leave husbands behind) haa haa

I have two lists - one as a virtual sticky note on my PC which is small things like 'get repeat prescription, order for dad' and the kitchen whiteboard which is things like 'clear garage, toys to charity shop'.

The whiteboard list hangs round more, but we did get the garage sorted - the storm warning was a great incentive to get the trailer tent inside for the winter!

Ideally I use a notebook for the huge brainstorming lists, but try to keep my work in progress list down to about 3-5 things to stop myself getting overwhelmed. The WIP tries desperately to grow all the time, though.

I love to-do lists and would be lost without them.

I try to do one for the week ahead on a Sunday night then add to it as when required.

The satisfaction of scoring off tasks is a fabulous feeling and even if I misplace the list writing it down makes it easier for me to retain in my head.

We make a to do list at the start of most weekends. It helps to work out exactly what we need to get done so we can work out the priorities and schedule time as effectively as possible.

My DH particularly appreciates the list, as he often doesn't notice or realise the things that need doing. With a list, it takes the guess work out of it and he can just work his way methodically down the jobs.

It's also strangely satisfying to scratch another item off the list and it gives a sense of achievement to see a fully completed list!

I have categories of lists, with a master list to keep track of them all. Then I ignore everything, get into a flap about how much stuff I should be doing and throw the lists away. Give me a week and I'll have created them again.

I have always done lists: long term lists (places I want to visit, things I want to do or learn etc), medium term lists (tidy the attic, sort out the books) or short term lists (buy milk). However, I am rather trapped between the use of paper and the use of electronic means. I often use both, sometimes think I have used one and occasionally muck it up entirely. I find my phone helps for jotting things down (or photographing things as reminders) and I am trying to use this more. However, my DH is a paper and pen man so shopping lists remain communal and old school.

I have to do lists for everything and love the satisfaction of ticking things off, of course some lists never get completed though.

I have paper lists in my purse of things to buy - food, card, presents. Spreadsheets of lists of work that needs to be done on the house, finances etc. and the odd little post it note too.

Sometimes I do something, then go back and add it to a list, just so I can do a satisfying tick .

I like ticking off things so put day to day tasks on eg hang out washing/unload dishwasher. My youngest has just started nursery so i'm hoping to get round to some of the bigger things eg sort out attic/ decorating etc....

I can be a big procrastinator and sorting out some old bank accounts in my maiden name has been on my list for a long time!

I have a whiteboard in the kitchen.
Each evening I write the next day's list of jobs, usually about 20 tasks that will take between a couple of minutes and an hour. I usually tick a few off before the school run, loads through the morning, a couple in the afternoon, and finish off the last few things while cooking dinner.
Lists help me keep focus, I never have more than two tasks left by the end of the day, and it's never the same two.

I have lists everywhere: paper, email, ipad, in my head!

Most do get done but these are the mundane things that need to be done. The things that take longer don't get done because I don't have the time. Anything that can't get done in 5 or 10 stolen minutes needs to wait.

My lists in are in my head mostly. Occasionally I'll write something down but then I put the piece of paper down somewhere and it seems to get misplaced. I bought a diary organiser thing last Christmas which had lots of tear out lists at the back. Not used it.

My mum and two sisters are List Makers Extraordinaire though, very organised. I think I probably bring List Shame upon them

I love lists! Most of mine exist in my head, like the current DIY one (plane door to stop it sticking, sort out kitchen light, repaint patchy wall...) but come Christmas there is a list for cards and presents, and at work when busy I have a list to make sure I get it all done. Very satisfying to cross things off! Lists for shopping, otherwise I will forget a vital ingredient, and I set reminders on my phone for things to be done the next day when they pop into my head.
Thinking of lists, perhaps it would be a good time to start my Christmas list - surely not too early?!

I love lists and live by them. Different lists for different parts of life. There's not one long never ending list.

For daily jobs around the house and linked to family, we have a chalk board. I add cleaning jobs to that as well as reminders for when to send in cheques/forms to school or book the dentist and cross them off daily.

Then there's a shopping list - online for groceries and on paper for other stuff on my Organised Mum calendar tear-off shopping list.

Work lists are online. I mail them to a friend each morning and she mails me hers. We are both freelance, so we act as each other's managers to make sure we get done the things we intended to do.

My favourite lists are bucket lists and life lists. I use online places like Day Zero for these and LOVE ticking things off. All the major achievements and fulfilments of big dreams in our family life have come from writing lists like this and checking on them regularly.

I use lists all the time. There is the shopping list (I shop in-store and the list keeps me focused and makes it quicker). I also have three Christmas lists - one lists what everyone is getting for Christmas, we have a master list of Christmas cards to be sent which is updated each year, and there is the list of what I have to do/buy before Christmas. I have two other lists - things I want to achieve that week and things I want to achieve over the longer term. I try to do at least one thing that I know I am avoiding every week - don't always succeed!

There is a temptation for me to "crisis manage" as I am short on time and to ignore the longer term stuff that needs planning for way in advance.

If I wrote down what my to do list should look like beyond a to do list for the current day I'm with remus it would be too too depressing!