There are those of us that like making to-do lists, and those of us that don’t. It can be easy to chalk this up to a personal preference: Either you’re a list person or you’re not. But even
if you don’t consider to-do lists to be your style, there are many reasons you should incorporate them into your work process.
We know, we know. With so much on your plate already, you simply don’t have the time or infrastructure to add one more task to your daily routine. But the beauty of to-do lists is, although they may represent another step in your workflow, they’re extremely easy to make and will save you tenfold when it comes to time and efficiency. And if you’re still not sold, here are five good reasons why you should consider using to-do lists on a daily basis.
1. Jog Your Memory
Property management is one of those fields where one day can differ drastically from the next. Also, because you’re dealing with a host of people including tenants, vendors, and property owners, you may well have dozens of small (but nonetheless important) tasks to do for a variety of people. No matter how professional and organized you are, it can be all too simple to let one of those tasks fall through the cracks. Writing down the phone calls you have to make and emails you need to reply to on a daily basis will go a long way toward guaranteeing you stay on the ball and keep all of your clients and tenants happy.
2. Manage Your Time
Nothing is more overwhelming than feeling like you have more tasks to do than there are hours in a day. When you complete tasks as they come to mind, they’re not necessarily being done in a logical order and, therefore, time is almost assuredly being wasted. If, for example, you know ahead of time that you have to return three phone calls and run across town to show a unit, you can plot out your day so that you are multi-tasking, making these calls while you make the cross-town drive. Without a to-do list, chances are you’ll complete tasks as they come to mind which can ultimately result in lost time.
3. Know Where You Stand
At the end of a long day, it can all too easily become a blur. You know that you worked hard all day but can hardly remember what happened that morning. Crossing items off of a to-do list will provide a black and white look at where you stand, what needs to be done, and what projects and tasks have been effectively resolved.
4. Build Your Reputation Through Reporting
One of the ways to-do lists can help better your business is by providing a clear means of demonstrating your efficacy to property owners. Again, it can be easy to forget exactly what you accomplished last week when you’re already looking ahead to what needs to be done next week. Task-tracking is the perfect way to keep track of what you’ve done, which can then be reported to bosses and higher-ups.
5. Maximum Results for Minimal Expenditure
When you think about it, if there was a product out there that offered you increased efficiency, productivity, and project tracking, you’d likely be willing to pay a significant amount of money for it. To-do lists are free and offer all of these results. Not only are they no-cost but even better, they require only the most minimum time expenditure on your part. All you have to do is build five minutes (or even less) into the beginning or end of your day to jot down all the tasks you have to accomplish and viola! You’re done. And if that sounds like too much, just keep a running tab of to-do items as they come up.
For more helpful information on creating effective to-do lists, be sure to check out the following links:
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