Write your to-do list before you go to bed

This can be a great way to help you de-stress and shut down before going to sleep. Support your commitment to turning off at the end of the day by following a ritual of taking 5 minutes to write a to-do list.

This can be done in a number of ways:

Mind Dump

Destress by clearing your mind. Mind-dump every incomplete task goal or project so that it is out of your head.

Once it is on paper – confirm that you have a plan for its completion, or that it is captured in a safe place ready to be revisited when the time is right.

Ivy Lee To Do List

Write out the 6 tasks for the next day in the order of importance.

If you aren’t a subscriber of the Ivy Lee Method – use your own preferred method to write your to-do list for the morning. If you need inspiration for writing your do list you can read our list of suggested options.

Categorised List

This way is somewhere in the middle. Clearing out the mind so that you rid of any stress – but having a clear categorised plan for tackling the to-do item and its completion. I enjoy using word notebooks for this.

 

Research from Baylor University in Texas showed that individuals spending five minutes on to-do lists before bedtime went to sleep significantly more quickly. The more specific the to-do list, the quicker the onset of sleep. They were compared with subject writing about things they had done over the last few days (completed activities/reflection journalling).