Do you make to-do lists? I never did. In fact, I never wrote anything down. True story. If I've got one task or another to accomplish, I just remember. It's all up in my head. Though I've tried to make to-do lists in the past, I've never managed to keep it up. It just seemed illogical to me to spend time writing what I had to do instead of, you know, just doing it.

That said, since becoming fully self-employed and working a variety of contracts in order to make ends meat, I've been finding it harder and harder to keep everything straight.

Recently, possibly after the billionth time I complained about feeling scattered and overwhelmed, my Dear Boyfriend (DB) suggested I make a to-do list. I wish I could say I was very gracious at the suggestion and gladly took to this task, but that would be a flat out lie. A big giant wall of resistance can up at the mere thought that my working methods could be wrong and I turned into a stubborn child about the whole thing. DB, somehow channeling the patience of a saint, put up with it all and encouraged me to try it anyway.

And you know what? It's really helped. Though it can feel like a lot to actually see everything you have to do in the coming week, there is something incredibly satisfying about crossing something out when you're done. Plus, I feel like my productivity level has gone up because my "work time" has become more focused and not bogged down "what should I do now... maybe just check Facebook real quick" type thoughts. It also allows my down time to be relaxing instead of stressed out about something else I think I should be doing right now.

I haven't perfected this system yet by any means, but I definitely feel like I'm on the right track. To all you multi-taskers out there, feel free to share your work methods in the comments below.

~~Write blog post.~~