Do you use to do lists? Make a list; maybe numbering things or with detailed description, where you write or type all that you need to accomplish? Some folks give them fancy names like goals, but they’re all things we need to get gone.

I do. I write a to do list. Or at least I sort of do.

I find lists help me to stay on target. Sometimes I get so caught up in a project I lose track of time or what other things I need to accomplish that day or week. To do lists help me stay on track.

But I also find them overwhelming.

Like most people, I end up with many more things on my list than I can accomplish in one day. Or I realize I can’t work on one project until part of another is completed first as they build on each other … but I don’t have time to finish the other before my next appointment, class or picking up/dropping off my children.

I’ve seen several different methods for list, goal or strategy making that are designed to keep us on track. They all look good. I have one that came with directions… which I have yet to read and will. I put that on my list.

So today I decided to try something new I came up with. A word cloud of things to do. I did a minor brain dump (5 minutes) and wrote down everything I knew I should be working on over the next several days. I wrote it on the top of my wall of dry erase boards while standing on a chair so I can’t easily erase things when they are lower on my priority list; as these projects or ideas are valuable and I should implement them at some point. It’s similar to the chore lists I write for myself and my kids each day. I can erase things as I do them which is very satisfying and I don’t have to do them in the order that I wrote them.

I’m going to try this for a week and see how it works.