Email to-do lists to myself

by Anju A.
(USA)

I work on the computer. So I created an email in which I put my daily planner activities with the date, member of family, and the planned activity. Something like:

Sep 15 - 4:15 - Name - Dr. XYZ appt

I keep adding stuff to this mail, things that are happening, things that I need to do, Things that I should be aware of etc. and send to myself and my hubby. I make sure that every time I resend it, I change the date in the Subject box to today's date. I always save this email in a specific folder with important flag status and remove the older version from there.

Doug's Reply. This is a simple, brilliant idea for remembering appointments and other to-do items. No memorization needed! As someone who also spends a lot of time on the computer, this is an organizational tip I'm going to use myself.

I've already played around with it a bit, and it works perfectly with my Yahoo! email account. I've added some "categories" to my To-Do email as well (such as Upcoming Appointments, Priority, Business Tasks, etc.). My email now looks something like this:

To-Do List
===========
UPCOMING APPOINTMENTS
Sep 29 - 9:00am - Take dog to vet for checkup

PRIORITY
X Mow lawn
X Download Silverlight on new PC
X Order DVDs for gifts (Amazon)
Put away laundry

BUSINESS TASKS
MIT - Create Multiplication 13-17 flash card set
X MIT - Answer newest questions
MIT - Add another brain game

DAILY SELF
X Exercise (weights & cardio)
X Brain training (10min)
Write in journal (10min)

HOME PROJECTS
Paint deck railing
Hang picture in living room

I'm sure the format of the list will continue to evolve the more I use it.

When an item is completed, I'll either erase it or, if I want to keep it on the list for awhile, put an 'X' to the left of it.

What I really like about this "email to-do list" trick is its simplicity. There are many software programs, internet applications, and physical binders that you can use to stay organized. But for someone who is constantly checking email anyway throughout the day, this is the perfect solution for maintaining a running to-do list.

You see, "memory" isn't only about memorizing things. It's really the whole art of not forgetting whatever it is you want to remember. That applies just as much to appointments and other to-do list items as it does to obvious memorization chores such as school work and the like.

Thanks so much for submitting this tip.

Best regards,
Douglas J.
Memory-Improvement-Tips.com