Productivity for Creators: The One Master Checklist to Rule Them All

How we creators can get more done this year than we ever thought possible

We’ve hit a new year. For some, that’s about as exciting as last Tuesday. For other creators, like me, a new year means new beginnings, new opportunities, and a new, big, fat checklist.

If we don’t know where we’re going, we’ll never get there.

You can make your big checklist any time. You don’t have to start at the beginning of a year. But, let’s say we do. In the upcoming paragraphs I’ll show you how I organize my year so I can accomplish more than the average bear.

We’ll start with the end of the year and work backwards. We’ll push the limit — further than we think we can accomplish. We’ll put high expectations on ourselves.

When we place high expectations on our work, even if we miss the mark, we’ll accomplish much more than had we set the bar low.

Your master checklist covers large, sweeping projects. As we work backwards, with quarterly (90 day check-ins), monthly, weekly, and daily plans — we’ll divide the master checklist into manageable bites.

By working backwards the chances of meeting our annual goals are much higher. We can prioritize our daily tasks, so our most important projects receive the most attention first.

If we don’t want to repeat the same year we finished, we’ve got to aim our efforts in the right direction.

What’s a master checklist?

Your master checklist is the one list to rule them all — as we’ll borrow from Tolkien’s ring. This is the giant repository where we’ll list everything we want to accomplish in a year.

Yes, our planning brain may be bigger than our doing brain, but for now, the sky’s the limit.

Each large project gets a checkbox. For example, I want to publish four books this year. Even if I don’t have a title yet, I’ll have four lines on my master list: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4.

These simple entries are all I need. I can go back and fill in the titles later if I wish. The key is to reserve a spot on the timeline.

I use the master checklist to cover all the Benjamin Franklin categories of: health, wealth, and wisdom.

Under health I include family, relationships, exercise, mindfulness, sleep, and diet.

Under wealth I include my publishing business, investing goals, and all other income-generating projects.

Under wisdom I include my reading goals for the year (100 books), supplemental education goals (self-education etc.), training and all other personal development.

The master checklist has but one rule: Only add items to the list you truly believe in and want to accomplish this year — nothing else.

We don’t make a wish list here. The master checklist will govern much of your free working hours when implemented correctly. If you think learning to play chess sounds cool, but it’s not a ‘hell yes!’ then don’t add it to your list.

Willpower and habits will play a factor in your execution of these tasks. The master checklist isn’t something we should whip-out in 15 minutes. Let it sit. Cross things off that don’t jive with the overall theme of what you want to accomplish this year. Re-write the list a couple times. Come back to it tomorrow if you need to.

Evaluate your skills, time, and abilities.

Yes, you should push the limits of your output, but don’t set yourself up for failure either. You’ve got twelve months. Only you know your limits. If you have to master a new skill to accomplish another task off the list, make sure you note both the skill and the task.

Your list is your list. Maybe you’ve got one item. Maybe forty. Be reasonable, yet reaching. As I wrote earlier, if you stretch yourself and miss a few projects, you’ll still get more done over the year than you would had you played it safe.

Prioritize

Once we’ve got our master list, we evaluate each task and number them or code them in some sequential order. Here’s another chance to add or remove items from your list.

Look at each item on the master list.

How are the items intertwined? What needs to be accomplished before another task can be complete? I can’t write a second book to follow a first book I haven’t written. I can’t take a vacation if I haven’t done the work required to earn the money for the trip.

Use this time to eliminate any additional ho-hum ideas.

The master list is no place for nice-to-haves. This is your list for real growth, earning, and mastery. If you don’t want to be an ultra-producer, don’t create a giant master list. If you want to end the year feeling like a real hustler, don’t build a lazy list.

Re-write your list in the order the items should be accomplished.

You’ll start with item one and work your way down. This way, if you finish the year and you haven’t accomplished the last three items at the bottom, you won’t punish yourself for not doing so.

Important at the top. Nicer-to-have goes to the bottom. This way of creating a prioritized master list meshes well with the Ivy Lee method (see story bellow).

Break it down

Recently, I’ve started a 90-day review each quarter. I look at where I want to go and what I’ve done. I create a top-five tasks for each quarter and then divide these into smaller monthly and daily tasks.

I don’t get too extreme with the task breakdown, but you can divide your annual tasks as much as you wish.

Start with the number-one item and divide it in smaller chunks. Maybe you can complete the task in a month. Maybe it takes three. Allow more time than you think it’ll take. 20% more time is a good estimate.

When we re-evaluate our master list with 90-day chunks, it helps make the large list more manageable. The quarterly evaluation also holds you accountable.

When you evaluate your progress before the end of the year it helps you adjust your work habits before it’s too late to do anything about it.

We break the quarters down to daily tasks. We use the Ivy Lee method to accomplish our most-important task before we move to the next task. With all these smaller chunks aligned with your master list, you’ve got a system in place to aim your entire year in the direction of your master list.

Now it’s your turn

This is a great time to plan your year. What do you wan to accomplish if you could do anything? Where do you want to be next year? How much money do you want to earn? How can you grow your relationships? What do you want to make different than last year?

As creators we’ve got a million ideas in our heads at all times. The master list helps you pick and choose the best ones.

Evaluate, add, reduce, and prioritize. You can take the big, elephant-sized tasks and break them down to something manageable. We use the power of daily, cumulative effort to get more done.

Now’s your time. Make this year your best year ever. No more empty resolutions.

We’re waiting for you.