That’s why I think #3 is so important. When you work with someone and present each others’ todo lists for the day (eg. in a Huddle/Stand-Up), there’s more pressure to be able to justify the list and the idea that you’ll be able to do everything on it.

This is so much harder when you’re working alone, or when you’re the boss, etc.

Every day.

1 - Really make sure you don’t have too much on your to-do list. Otherwise too often your to-do list for tomorrow is just a copy of today’s with a few things added and removed.

2 - Work on tomorrow’s To-Do list today. When you realize that you need to do something, ask yourself, “can it wait ’till tomorrow?” If it can (and is important enough) add it to tomorrow’s list. If it can’t, put it on today’s list and transfer another goal from today’s to tomorrow’s list.

Ok, three tricks.

3 - Set up a time in the morning to review the list with a co-worker. The hard part is making sure you stick to reviewing your lists, without turning to shop talk.