Like I said in my post about prioritizing as a freelancer, I’ve been going back to basics lately in how I organize my day. A simple to do list has proven the most effective for actually getting stuff done—not dreaming or planning or goal setting, but actually doing the work. Of course, I’ve learned the hard way (if only you could see the amount of notebooks I’ve filled with incomplete to dos, sorry paper) that not all lists are effective. Assuming you create your list at the beginning of each day and prioritize that list based on deadlines and urgency, this 3-step process will guarantee a much more effective to-do than both a post-it and your most intricate planner.